{"id":948592,"date":"2026-10-27T21:28:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T21:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/948592\/"},"modified":"2026-10-27T21:28:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T21:28:10","slug":"winnipeg-jets-gm-kevin-cheveldayoff-says-connor-hellebuyck-requested-a-trade-at-exit-physicals-sets-stage-for-return-on-nov-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/948592\/","title":{"rendered":"Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff says Connor Hellebuyck requested a trade at exit physicals, sets stage for return on Nov. 10"},"content":{"rendered":"

Winnipeg Jets<\/a> general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff is ready to move on after finally completing the difficult task of finding a suitable trade partner for superstar goalie Connor Hellebuyck<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The Jets sent Hellebuyck, who won three Vezina Trophies and one Hart Trophy during his 11 years in Winnipeg, to the New Jersey Devils<\/a> on Friday in exchange for forwards Dawson Mercer<\/a> and Nick Bjugstad<\/a>, goaltender Nico Daws<\/a>, prospect forward Alexander Command, a 2027 seventh-round pick and a 2029 second-round pick.<\/p>\n

Viewers in the Jets region can watch Hellebuyck\u2019s return to Winnipeg as a member of the Devils on Nov. 10 at 7pm ET\/4pm PT on TSN3, TSN.ca and the TSN App.<\/a><\/p>\n

Hellebuyck, a 33-year-old American, let Cheveldayoff and the Jets know he wanted out of Winnipeg at the end of last season despite having five seasons remaining on the seven-year, $59.1 million contract he signed in October of 2023. <\/p>\n

Cheveldayoff had a goal in mind right from the initial trade request and told TSN 1050\u2019s OverDrive on Monday he was \u201ccomfortable\u201d with the package they received for Hellebuyck.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe days before, the weeks before, the months before, it\u2019s been a process. When we met and he [Hellebuyck] asked for a trade just after the season ended in his exit physicals, that set in motion the wheels for me. I guess the different various, whatever pressure points they tried to impose, they were what they were,\u201d Cheveldayoff said on OverDrive.<\/a> \u201cAt the end of the day we had a goal set in our mind as to we were going to try and help this current team here right now, and obviously trying to help build for the future as well because you\u2019re never gonna get a one-for-one type of deal for a player like Connor Hellebuyck<\/a> in a situation like that. So again, we\u2019re comfortable with the package we received, and now it\u2019s just a matter of putting the past behind us and moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 56-year-old Cheveldayoff admitted he never felt the Jets had a chance to sway Hellebuyck\u2019s mind when it came to staying in Winnipeg, but did let Hellebuyck\u2019s camp know that a trade of this magnitude wasn\u2019t going to be an easy task. <\/p>\n

\u201cI did impart upon them at that point in time that this is more tricky than what you expect,\u201d explained Cheveldayoff. \u201cI said, \u2018This isn\u2019t a centreman, this isn\u2019t a defenceman.\u2019 Every team\u2019s got four centreman, every team\u2019s got six D, eight wingers. There\u2019s only one net on any given night. And if a team has a bona fide number one that they\u2019re happy with and locked in and all those kind of things, then you can give me that team as a trade place, but that\u2019s not gonna work. I just think that what we tried to impart upon, that this could take a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hellebuyck was still not traded by the time September rolled around, leading to an unpaid suspension after failing to show up to training camp. <\/p>\n

TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reported the Jets kept their focus on trading Hellebuyck rather than have him return to the team. Hellebuyck forfeited just under $40,000 a day while he was suspended, surrendering just under $930,000 of his yearly $7.5 million salary this season before finally being dealt to New Jersey on Friday. <\/p>\n

Despite the off-ice distractions, the Jets showed resilience in the early portion of the season, and currently hold a 4-4-3 record. <\/p>\n

Cheveldayoff credits his players for keeping the season on the rails, adding the group had a \u201cchip on the shoulder\u201d following their dismal 2025-26 season in which they finished well out of the playoff picture. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think going back here, the real credit is to the current players on this team that came back from a tough season last year where we didn\u2019t achieve what we wanted and weren\u2019t at the same level or playing on the same par as the three 50-win seasons prior to that,\u201d he said. \u201cSo there\u2019s a chip on the shoulder of the group that\u2019s here. They all came back to training camp saying they wanted to prove something different. We\u2019ve got some new players, we\u2019ve got some young players trying to integrate them. And with young players, you hope that where they are in September and October is not where they\u2019re going to end up being in November, December, January, February as they continue to get more experience and grow as players. That\u2019s how you have to get better as an organization.\u201d <\/p>\n

Hellebuyck was selected by the Jets in the fifth round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, spending the first 11 seasons of his career in Winnipeg<\/p>\n

Over 625 regular-season games in Winnipeg, Hellebuyck had a 345-208-55 record alongside a 2.58 goals-against average and .916 save percentage with 45 shutouts.<\/p>\n

Hellebuyck won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL\u2019s top goalie in 2020, 2024 and 2025 as well as the Hart Memorial Trophy in 2025.<\/p>\n

Hellebuyck will make his return to Winnipeg\u2019s Canada Life Centre as a member of the Devils on Nov. 10. <\/p>\n

As for the reception Hellebuyck will get from Winnipeg fans?<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I don\u2019t know,\u201d said the GM. \u201cThis fan base is very passionate. They are very creative. Unfortunately, I won\u2019t be in the building that night. We\u2019ve got GM meetings. So, you know, I\u2019ll have to get it second-hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leaving Canada<\/p>\n

Cheveldayoff wouldn\u2019t divulge into the specific reasons why Hellebuyck no longer wanted to play in Manitoba\u2019s capital, but his story isn\u2019t an uncommon one in recent memory. <\/p>\n

Hellebuyck became the third star American player to be dealt away from a Canadian market over the past year, joining former Vancouver Canucks<\/a> captain Quinn Hughes<\/a> and former Ottawa Senators<\/a> captain Brady Tkachuk<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Hellebuyck, Hughes and Tkachuk were all members of the United States team that captured gold at Milano Cortina 2026 last February. <\/p>\n

Cheveldayoff elected not to dive into the growing theory that certain players rather not play in a Canadian market, but did say what he was reminded of regarding Winnipeg and hockey during the process of trading Hellebuyck.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think each and every individual is going to have their different thoughts on that as players, as managers, as people on the inside or the outside,\u201d Cheveldayoff said. \u201cAt the end of the day, someone asked me what I learned when I was in my press conference about our market during this whole ordeal. And it really wasn\u2019t what I learned, it was what I was reminded of. And I was reminded how important this team is to the city of Winnipeg, how important the players are and the passion that the fans feel for each and every player and the connection that they feel. And that\u2019s what drives the fandom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cheveldayoff is the NHL\u2019s longest-tenured general manger, serving his role in Winnipeg since 2011. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m one of the luckiest people. I\u2019m one of the 32 lucky guys to have a job that involves being the custodian of Winnipeg\u2019s hockey team. And that\u2019s how I look at it each and every day,\u201d said Cheveldayoff.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff is ready to move on after finally completing the difficult task of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":948593,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[712,49,48,74728,82,74727],"class_list":["post-948592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-apple-news","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-connor-hellebuyck-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8476945","tag-sports","tag-winnipeg-jets-sports-hockey-team-team-nhl-api-52"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=948592"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948592\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/948593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=948592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=948592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=948592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}