Instead of speaking about the dozens of players participating in the first day of training camp’s on-ice sessions, Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff was forced to speak on the one who wasn’t.
That’s goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who has publicly demanded a trade, refused to report to training camp, and been suspended by the team for breach of contract.
“There’s probably lots of whys and unfortunately this situation is what it is,” Cheveldayoff said Thursday morning from Hockey For All Centre. “Just looking to find a resolution that works for both sides, but certainly for the players and fans of the Winnipeg Jets.”
“In my mind, it’s irrelevant,” he said of Hellebuyck’s reasons for not reporting. “In my mind, I have to deal with the situation that’s in front of me. Connor’s made the choices and we’ll just deal with them moving forward.”
“We’ve been looking for trying to make a trade that works for both sides for a long period of time here now. We’ll continue to do that and absent of that, we’ll see how things unfold.”
The suspension is procedural, Cheveldayoff explained. The Jets will not have to pay him any of the $8.5 million he was owed this season, nor will it count against the salary cap, once the regular season begins.
“We Are Still Trying to Win, Period”
Cheveldayoff has been public about his commitment to his current core that he will do everything in his power to keep the team competitive every season. He was asked if Hellebuyck had a “right” to go elsewhere if he feels the team isn’t holding up its end of the bargain.
“I think we’ve been a team that has tried to be competitive as much as we possibly can each and every year,” he said. “Obviously, last season we didn’t have a good year, there’s no doubt about that, but that’s coming off the heels of a Presidents’ Trophy win and two 50-plus year wins prior to that.”
Hellebuyck said all the right things in 2023 when he signed a seven-year extension: that he was “ready to be a Jet for life and bring a Cup to this city” and that he truly believed “we can get it done here.”
It turns out those words were empty. All it took was one down season — 2025-26 was the first time in a decade the team failed to finish above .500 — to sour the 33 year old on the organization and its direction.
“Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion and own thought process…” Cheveldayoff said. “The thought process of the team has always been to win. That has not changed. That has not changed. The premise around the thought process of the trade — we are still trying to win, period.”
As a result, Cheveldayoff said he wasn’t interested in “future assets” being the major part of the return.
Cheveldayoff also threw cold water on speculation that there was a “gentlemen’s agreement” struck with Hellebuyck at the time of signing that they would trade him if they weren’t competitive.
“A contract is a contract in the National Hockey League, period,” he said. “There are no side agreements, there’s no gentlemen’s agreements. The league doesn’t allow for that. Any notion around that would not have any merit.”
Trade Will Come When Return Is Right
With five years left on his contract, Hellebuyck has zero leverage to actually get out of Winnipeg despite failing to report. Any trade will be on the organization’s timeline, not his, and will only happen when Cheveldayoff gets an offer he thinks represents fair value for someone with three Vezina Trophies, two William M. Jennings Trophies, and a Hart Trophy to his name.
TSN’s Darren Dreger recently reported that the trade offers Cheveldayoff has received so far have been “terrible,” leading to speculation a deal may not happen any time soon.
While Cheveldayoff said the word “terrible” was a case of sensationalizing, he added “what we have to understand here is we’re talking about moving Connor Hellebuyck…a player that has been very important to this franchise and is a very good player in the National Hockey League. We expect that a level of return would be commensurate to that.”
“There’s been nothing that has allowed us to say ‘ok, this works for both parties, both teams.’”
Cheveldayoff said he’s not operating under any sort of ticking clock.
“My obligation is to the Winnipeg Jets, the Winnipeg Jets players, and Winnipeg Jets fans,” he said. “For me, I just want to get this right.”
“I have to try and keep a level head,” he added later. “I cant let emotion come into play in any regard. It’s about trying to find something that can push this organization forward and obviously in a different fashion with a different player or players… it can’t get emotional, it can’t get personal. Connor Hellebuyck’s part of our family until he’s not part of our family. You don’t just say that. You have to believe it.”
Asked if there was any chance Hellebuyck will ever play another game for the Jets, Cheveldayoff said “no doors are closed.”
“In my estimation, he’s a player that’s under contract and he’s a player that’s under contract for five years. At the end of the day, that will be his choice.”
Jets Goaltending Situation in Flux
There’s no denying Hellebuyck has thrown a big wrench in the Jets’ goaltending situation. There are a few different ways things could pan out from here.
Regardless of if Hellebuyck is traded before the start of the regular season, the Jets will go with offseason signing Stuart Skinner as their starter.
If the Jets do trade Hellebuyck prior to the regular season and receive an NHL-calibre goalie as part of the return package, that goalie will likely play in tandem with Skinner.
If the Jets do not trade Hellebuyck before the regular season or do receive a goalie as part of the return, they can either go with Domenic DiVincentiis or Thomas Milic as backup, swing a separate trade for a goalie not involving Hellebuyck, or pick up a goalie off waivers.
The Jets begin their four-game preseason slate Saturday in Edmonton versus the Oilers.
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