WINNIPEG — The Winnipeg Jets have suspended goaltender Connor Hellebuyck for failure to report to training camp, the team announced Wednesday.
The team also said general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff will address the media at 10:30 a.m. CT on Thursday.
Hellebuyck, 33, is entering the third year of a seven-year contract extension with an $8.5 million average annual value. He went public with his trade request via a post shared by his agent, Ray Petkau, on Aug. 27.
Hellebuyck had attracted league-wide attention in his April exit interview for criticizing the Jets’ failure to make the playoffs. The Jets came close to completing a trade with the Buffalo Sabres before the draft and, when that didn’t come to fruition, signed goalie Stuart Skinner to a two-year contract.
The latest on the Connor Hellebuyck trade saga
Murat Ates and Sean McIndoe
Why hasn’t Connor Hellebuyck reported to training camp?
Hellebuyck has yet to publicly clarify the reason he wants out of Winnipeg, but he expressed doubts at his exit interview about the Jets’ ability to build a contender.
“For me, it’s winning a Stanley Cup. That’s my goal, and that’s all I have left,” Hellebuyck said. “How can I get that? How can I get there?”
Hellebuyck had previously expressed concern about the “blowback” his wife, Andrea, received on social media after Team USA’s Olympic gold medal win and Hellebuyck’s visit to the White House.
“I don’t understand how she can take so much heat for just being with me as a hockey player,” Hellebuyck said in March. “We’ve done nothing wrong, she’s done nothing wrong, my kids have done nothing wrong, and everyone in my family is happy.”
In all cases, whether after the Olympics, during his exit interview or in his prepared statement in August, Hellebuyck has expressed appreciation for Jets fans and the city of Winnipeg.
What happens next?
If Hellebuyck remains suspended when the regular season begins, he will forgo his $8.5 million salary until he’s reinstated. His contract will not count against the Jets’ salary cap while he is suspended.
The only two resolutions are a trade or Hellebuyck changing his mind and returning to the Jets. His prepared statement in August left little room for the latter, so Winnipeg must continue to seek a trade in a difficult September market.
Multiple teams are believed to have expressed interest during the summer, including Buffalo, the New Jersey Devils, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Utah Mammoth, but a trade does not appear imminent at this time.
The Jets, meanwhile, need to acquire a goaltender to share the crease with Skinner. That player would ideally be part of a Hellebuyck trade return; failing that, the Jets will likely turn to the waiver wire as training camp continues.