Jets signaled true intentions with Connor Hellebuyck amid trade rumors

1 hour ago 1

Connor Hellebuyck is still a member of the Winnipeg Jets, for now.

But when the Jets released their schedule for the season ahead, Hellebuyck wasn't involved in any of the marketing.

That doesn't mean they're definitely trading him, but it certainly doesn't help quiet the rumors.

"The Jets don’t have to move Hellebuyck – they are still trying to compete in the present, and he has five seasons remaining on his deal – but it's telling that they didn’t include him on any of their promotional material for the schedule release last week," Daily Faceoff's Matt Larkin wrote in a new article this week.

MORE: Dylan Larkin trade 'frontrunner' revealed

The Jets have admitted they're listening to offers for Hellebuyck, although the number of teams that would be genuinely pursuing him at this point has probably dwindled from the beginning of the offseason.

The Buffalo Sabres have been the most heavily linked team of late, but it's not clear the sides have been able to agree on what a trade package might look like.

Because Winnipeg still wants to be competitive, it'll need real high-end talent in return for Hellebuyck, not just future assets.

The problem the Jets themselves face, though, is that an offseason of trade rumors and speculation can be tough to come back from.

Would Hellebuyck really want to be back in the building for a team that spent the offseason considering sending him elsewhere?

It's not an ideal situation, and it's one the Jets are going to have to solve sometime in the next couple months, or things could get quite awkward.