In today’s NHL rumour rundown, we start off with the Florida Panthers, who tried to acquire goaltender Connor Hellebuyck from the Winnipeg Jets. Next, the Boston Bruins were exploring the trade market and looked to be prepared to acquire Filip Hronek from the Vancouver Canucks.
Finally, Adam Fantilli remains unsigned as we continue through training camp, but there continues to be negotiations between him and the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Insider Reveals Massive Panthers Offer for Hellebuyck
Over the course of the offseason, one of the biggest questions was about Hellebuyck, where he would end up and what the price would be. Historically, high-end goaltenders haven’t held the same trade value as elite players, but after seeing what the Panthers were offering, many were shocked.
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images)
The Panthers lost Sergei Bobrovsky and Daniil Tarasov to free agency, and in their efforts to rebuild their goaltending, tried to acquire Hellebuyck.
According to Elliotte Friedman via 32 Thoughts, the Panthers offered Evan Rodrigues, the draft picks they used to acquire Brady Tkachuk (including ninth and 25th overall in 2026), as well as another roster player, which was not Anton Lundell.
While it isn’t publicly known what the current offers for Hellebuyck look like, but at least in the Panthers’ case, all of those assets are already gone.
Would anybody be surprised if Panthers general manager Bill Zito found a way to bring him in anyway? Definitely not, but the rumours around the league suggest many teams are in the same position as the Panthers, not owning the offered assets anymore.
Did the Jets miss their window to make a fair deal?
Bruins Explored Hronek Trade, Accidentally Leak Offer to Canucks
The Bruins were linked to quite a few defensemen over the offseason, including Darnell Nurse, Rasmus Andersson, and others.
In a recent episode of “Behind the B”, the team published some behind-the-scenes content from their offseason. In one scene, a whiteboard can be seen in the background with the PuckPedia trade tool, and it revealed their offer for Hronek.
The Bruins were prepared to send over prospect Liam Pettersson and a pair of their own first-round picks.
While the Canucks are amidst a teardown, Hronek is one of the very few players they don’t have interest in moving. He is a strong candidate to be their next captain, he has performed very well individually, and he seems content with staying.
Considering the Bruins were looking at making a splash like that, they were clearly in the market for a big addition to their blue line. This offseason, they brought in Will Borgen, but he isn’t going to make the impact they were hoping to find in an acquisition.
At this time of year, the trade market is pretty quiet as teams are analyzing their own talents, but if a defenseman becomes available, the Bruins will likely be interested.
Fantilli Negotiations Continue as Training Camp Goes On
The Blue Jackets still have not signed their top centre and young star, and with Fantilli missing more time at training camp, the pressure to get a deal done continues to rise.
On the first episode of the Bobby Mac & Porty Show, The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reported that Fantilli was unwilling to negotiate a new deal before becoming a restricted free agent. While he could have been looking for an offer sheet, more comparables, or another reason, his goal was to go into this offseason unsigned.
That isn’t an indication that he doesn’t want to remain in Columbus, but now that we are four days into training camp and his deal isn’t done, there could be some concern.
Friedman, on the same podcast episode referenced above, stated, “[Fantilli] had a target in mind for some time, and they just haven’t really budged from it…to this point, Columbus is not there.”
While it might get easier with different baselines from Cutter Gauthier, Connor Bedard, and Leo Carlsson, and while negotiations continue through camp, someone is going to have to settle if they want a deal done.
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