Free Agent Frenzy on July 1 continues to draw closer and TSN.ca keeps you up to date with all the latest news and rumours as the NHL off-season heats up.
Is Hellebuyck available?
Connor Hellebuyck opened the door to speculation on his future when he opened up about his disappointment in the Winnipeg Jets season during their locker room cleanout in April.
The last two months have done little to quiet the potential trade chatter and TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports that Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff is at least willing to listen on calls that come on regarding the star goaltender.
“More than talk, (there’s) certainly noise in the Winnipeg market. And now it’s drifting to us here nationally. And mostly it’s all based on speculation,” Dreger explained Wednesday. “But hey, it’s the old adage, where there’s smoke, often there is fire. And what I can tell you from Winnipeg’s standpoint is that Kevin Cheveldayoff, the GM of the Jets, is at least in a position where he knows he has to listen.
“So yes, teams are calling. And it’s likely based on what Connor Hellebuyck said as he shared his disappointment for the finish in the Winnipeg Jets season. So listening, and then you look at the needs that Winnipeg has. They very much want a No. 2 centre. They’d like to add a depth centre, like a (fourth-line) centre. They’d like to look at their blueline. And if they trade Connor Hellebuyck, then they’re going to have to pay some attention to their goaltending as well.
“The unrestricted free agent market is so thin right now, and history tells us that Winnipeg struggles in making big trades because it’s hard to lure players with trade protection to Winnipeg. But when you’ve got a Vezina Trophy-winning goalie, who granted has a no-move clause, potentially in play, and teams are calling, if the Winnipeg Jets can improve their lineup by adding a number two centre plus, plus, then I think Cheveldayoff is at least willing at this point to consider that."
Hellebuyck, 33, went 23-23-11 last season with a 2.86 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage. Winnipeg took a step backward, going from Presidents’ Trophy winners to missing the playoffs.
“You know, I don’t want to go and leave any speculation,” Hellebuyck said after the season came to an end. “I love this city and I love playing here, and the fans have given me so much, and I’ve given so much back to the fans, and there’s a real connection there. I wish more people around the league would see that and could see that.”
“I’m not going to go and tell you that right now I feel amazing about winning a Cup tomorrow – no team out of the playoffs is going to say that. No player out of the playoffs is going to say that,” he added. “You make your decisions and you live by them, and as time goes by you try to re-evaluate. Honestly, as an athlete, the only thing you can do is put your best foot forward.”
The 6-foot-4 netminder is entering the third season of a seven-year, $59.5 million contract that carries an annual cap hit of $8.5 million. He holds a full no-move clause as part of the contract through next July, when it will switch to a 10-team approved trade list.
Hellebuyck enjoyed some glory this past season as he backstopped the United States to their first Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey since 1980, going 5-0 with a 1.18 GAA and .956 save percentage. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom following his 41-save performance in the gold-medal win overtime win against Canada.
“For me, it’s winning a Stanley Cup – that’s my goal, and that’s all I have left, and that’s what I want on my resumé,” Hellebuyck added in April. “I don’t play this game for the money, I don’t play it for the fame. I do it for my own personal fun and, you know, part of that is winning a Cup. So for me, I’m just looking at how can I get that? How can I get there?”
Hellebuyck is just a year removed from being he runaway winner of the Hart Trophy and Vezina Trophy in 2024-25, putting up a 47-12-3 record with a 2.00 GAA and .925 save percentage.
Drafted 130th overall by the Jets in the 2012 draft, Hellebuyck has a career 345-208-55 record with a 2.58 GAA and .916 save percentage.
Pending unrestricted free agent Eric Comrie spent this past season as Hellebuyck’s backup in Winnipeg, posting a 12-11-1 record with a .890 save percentage and a 3.13 GAA.
The team has three other goaltenders in their system in Thomas Milic, Domenic DiVincentiis and Isaac Poulter.
Leafs eyeing Raddysh in free agency
The Toronto Maple Leafs appear to be looking to revamp their blueline this summer under new general manager John Chayka and it appears the team is eyeing pending unrestricted free agent Darren Raddysh as the cornerstone piece of their overhaul.
Chayka got to work earlier this week, acquiring blueliner Emil Andrae, along with goaltender Samuel Ersson and a third-round pick, from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for goaltender Joseph Woll and defenceman Simon Benoit.
Dreger reports that Morgan Rielly appears to be the next defenceman that will be moved out in Toronto, with Jake McCabe also a possibility on the trade market. With minutes to fill, Raddysh appears to be atop Toronto’s wish list on July 1.
“We know that Morgan Rielly is going to have a change of address. At least that seems more likely. They’re not pushing that just yet, but there’s been enough talk around that. That’s the expectation from the Morgan Riley camp,” Dreger explained. “I know that there are calls coming in on Jake McCabe as well, and teams continuing to do their work around McCabe in terms of his health and what his future might look like.
“And I think all of this was kind of designed with a focus on unrestricted free agency. What if Tampa Bay’s Darren Raddysh hits the open open market. I’m told that the Maple Leafs absolutely covet Raddysh and they’re trying to create the cap space to make sure that they’re a big-time player again if he gets to July 1."
Raddysh, 30, had a breakthrough season with the Tampa Bay Lightning last year, recording 22 goals and 70 points in 73 games while averaging: 22:42 of ice time.
He added a goal and two points in seven playoff games while averaging 26:06 of ice time as the Lightning bowed out in the first round.
The 6-foot-1, right-shot defenceman is in for a significant raise after playing under a two-year, $1.95 million contract that carried a cap hit of $975,000.
Even without moving Rielly or McCabe, the Maple Leafs are currently projected to have $27.3 million in cap space for July 1, per PuckPedia with 18 players under contract for next season.
Moving Rielly would clear an additional $7.5 million in space and McCabe another $4.5 million. Rielly has a full no-move clause, while McCabe has a full no-trade clause in his deal. Both players are signed through 2029-30, along with fellow defenceman Chris Tanev, who carries a $4.5 million cap hit.
