The Winnipeg Jets have suspended star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck for failing to report to training camp, the team announced on Wednesday.
General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff will address the media on Thursday morning.
The decision comes after Hellebuyck went public with his trade request last month, in hopes of spurring a trade before the season begins.
While the Jets held trade talks with the Buffalo Sabres ahead of the draft in June, all has been quiet on the Hellebuyck since. TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger has reported the Jets have not received any offers with “fair value in return for an elite-level goaltender in Hellebuyck with years remaining on his contract.”
Earlier this month, TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun pointed to the Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes and Utah Mammoth as possible landing spots for Hellebuyck.
LeBrun wrote in The Athletic that the Florida Panthers were interested in making a move for Hellebuyck in June but no longer have the assets to do so after adding Brady Tkachuk in a massive deal with the Ottawa Senators that same month and later adding goaltender Jacob Markstrom on the trade market.
Hellebuyck is coming off a down year, but took home the Hart, Vezina and William M. Jennings trophies in 2025.
The 33-year-old netminder appeared in 57 games last season, his lowest total since the 2020-21 season, but also started five games for Team USA at the Olympics en route to winning gold.
Hellebuyck posted the worst save percentage of his career at .895 – the first time he’s fallen below .900 - in 2025-26, to go along with a 2.86 goals-against average and a 23-23-11 record.
The 33-year-old signed a contract extension in October 2023 with an annual cap hit of $8.5 million through the 2030-31 season.
The Jets won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2025, becoming just the fifth team in NHL history to miss the playoffs in the following year.
The Jets are coming off of a relatively quiet off-season, brining in defenceman Mario Ferraro and goaltender Stuart Skinner in their most significant additions and also locking up Cole Perfetti on a five-year, $30 million contract.
The addition Skinner on July 1 raised further questions on Hellebuyck’s future. The team also has Thomas Milic, Domenic DiVincentiis and Isaac Poulter in their system at goaltender.
With Hellebuyck not reporting, it appears to be Skinner’s net for the time being in Winnipeg.
“It’s funny, it might be me that gets impacted a little bit more,” Skinner told the Canadian Press of a potential Hellebuyck trade last week. “But I haven’t thought much about it. There’s so many distractions that can go around in this league, through trades, through anybody’s situation. So what I’ve learned in my four years is my job is my job.”
The Jets open their preseason on Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers and their regular season opener looms large on Oct. 2 against the Boston Bruins.
