NHL Rumor Mill – September 23, 2026
Could the Canadiens or Oilers acquire Connor Hellebuyck? Where could Quinn Hughes end up next season? What’s the latest on the Blues? Find out in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
TORONTO SUN: Steve Simmons recently dismissed the notion that Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck doesn’t want to play for Canadian teams, calling it “senseless.”
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (NHL Images).
Hellebuyck, 33, requested a trade and is currently suspended without pay by the Jets for not reporting to training camp.
“If he were dealt to Edmonton or Montreal, he would report in a minute,” Simmons wrote. “He wants out of Winnipeg, not because the Jets are lousy, but because his family has apparently been treated poorly by the local community.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: In March, Hellebuyck spoke about backlash he and his family received on social media after he backstopped Team USA to gold against Canada in the Winter Olympics. However, he also said he wasn’t booed by Jets fans following the Olympics.
Hellebucyk never mentioned any poor treatment by the Winnipeg community during his end-of-season comments, when he was critical of his performance and that of his teammates. He instead spoke about how much he loved playing in Winnipeg and the connection he had with the fans.
THE SICK PODCAST: James Murphy reports an NHL source confirmed the Montreal Canadiens have not expressed any interest in Hellebuyck. The source believes Simmons’ report likely came from Hellebuyck’s camp, led by his longtime agent, Ray Petkau.
Assuming Hellebuyck would be interested in joining the Canadiens, Murphy’s source said the feeling isn’t mutual. “The Habs are very content with their goaltending situation right now and aren’t going to pay the ransom of roster players the Jets will want for something they’re not looking for right now.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canadiens’ biggest needs are an established second-line center and an experienced right-shot defenseman. Goaltending isn’t an issue. They’re currently carrying Jakub Dobes, Jacob Fowler, and Samuel Montembeault, with the latter regularly surfacing in trade rumors.
As for the Oilers, they’d probably love to acquire Hellebuyck, but they can’t afford his $8.5 million AAV and lack the assets necessary to meet the Jets’ asking price.
THE SCORE: Kyle Cushman, Sean O’Leary, and Josh Wegman looked at whether Hellebuyck or Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin would be traded first. O’Leary and Cushman believe it’ll be Hellebuyck, partly because his holdout could force a quick resolution.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: I’m with Wegman that it’ll likely be Larkin before Hellebuyck. He believes there’s a larger market for a first-line center in his prime than a high-priced goaltender.
Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has a well-earned reputation for patience when shopping players who have requested trades, moving them when he gets a return that helps his team.
THE SCORE: Cushman, O’Leary, and Wegman also predicted Quinn Hughes’ future. The 26-year-old superstar defenseman is UFA-eligible next summer, raising questions about whether he’ll re-sign with the Minnesota Wild or join his brothers Jack and Luke with the New Jersey Devils.
Wegman believes Hughes will sign a three-year contract extension and the average annual value would be $19.5 million. O’Leary believes he’ll get traded to New Jersey, and Cushman thinks he’ll sign with the Devils next summer.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Hughes’ future will remain a hot topic for speculation the longer he goes without a new contract. I think he’ll re-sign with the Wild because they should give him the best chance to win the Stanley Cup, especially if they can suitably address their need for a first-line center.
32 THOUGHTS: THE PODCAST: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the St. Louis Blues could be open to trade offers for some of their bottom-six forwards.
Friedman said not all of their bottom-six forwards will make their team for this season. He believes Blues management have let it be known around the league that they have extra players to spare if teams are seeking roster depth.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Julian Gaudio of The Hockey News listed Alexey Toropchenko, Nathan Walker, Oskar Sundqvist, Jack Finley, and Dillon Dube as players who could be fighting for roster spots.
Gaudio suggested three of them could end up on waivers, where they could be claimed by other clubs. He also speculated that Pius Suter could be moved if Aleksanteri Kaskimaki or Zach Dean challenge for the fourth-line center role.
Helly had to beef up his and his family’s security when he returned from his victorious Olympic journey. He took the high road and did not mention it at the time.
Johnny Z: The Jets also look into security for Hellebuyck and spoke to police about the online threats his family received. However, given his comments about his love of the city of Winnipeg and of its fans, and his praise for them, it’s unlikely that’s the reason why he wants out of Winnipeg. He wants to win a Stanley Cup, and no longer believes he can do so with the Jets.
Well it certainly did not help his cause to stay in the Peg!
He knew he was still gonna be there for a time so I imagine he said what he said as part truth and part cool it down on his family. I wouldnt stand for that s**t live a life under security guards lol nope
It’s a sad ending to a player who enjoyed Winnipeg for 21 seasons, a player who was also mutually liked by the community. The current situation doesn’t look good on either one of them.
First 12 year old drafted in the nhl. Sad ending seeing how Winnipeg practically raised him
I agree. I am sure the Oil would love to have the pedigree of a goalie like hellebucyk in net but the pkg has to start with Jarry just to start to make the money work…and then what?
So the dollars is troubling and even more, a pkg to satisfy the jets is a bigger hurdle imo. While we have prospects trending to an nhl career they are not of star quality. I think we have our 2028 1st pick.
What would the jets want? RNH not happening imo. Savoie – while they may have interest i doubt alone with Jarry (limited value especially after last season) and picks is strong enough.
I just dont see a path where the Oil and Jets find common ground for a deal.
Would love to see it, but dont see how it happens.
1Oilerfan: Agreed. The cap dollars and the tradeable assets aren’t there.
Oilers won’t trade for him but it would take a 3 way trade with probably either Savoie or Howard and Mukhamadullin involved.
I think there would be interest from the Oilers just not the level the jets need them to be.
They also didn’t trade for Levi for him to be the backup for a long time.
I’m betting that Prime Minister Carney does a trade deal with the US before Chevy does a trade involving Helle. Unless he’s prepared to accept a 60-70 cents on the dollar return, this is likely to go to Christmas. Also, Simmons is delusional , I seriously think that his so called sources regularly punk him with intel to see if he actually writes an article on it.
Why do so many have their hair on fire over the Simmons column?
As above:
Steve Simmons recently dismissed the notion that Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck doesn’t want to play for Canadian teams, calling it “senseless. “f he were dealt to Edmonton or Montreal, he would report in a minute …”
Simmons is debunking the Helly anti-Canadian malarky; he’s not proposing a trade to Edmonton, Montreal.
LJ, yup.
Thank you, LJ. Quite frankly, I’ve had it up to here with the “Simmons is a hack” crap.
Seems to me that the ONLY ones he appears to piss off regularly are those who only want to hear what they WANT to hear … never what they should hear … and digest.
It’s not the one Simmons comment, look back over the past several years the amount of venomous drivel that this individual has spewn about many topics that he has little understanding of.
I am firmly in the “not a fan of Simmons” camp. But LJ’s right, that is what he said above.
Lyle, have to disagree with you and Wegman. A lot of teams need a center but if reports are true, only 3-4 teams he wanted to go to. Maybe willing to stay if Yzerman as GM was the problem. Hellebuyck open to more destinations and price to acquire won’t be ridiculous.
After this summer of the Wings management bungling EVERTHING, I believe Larkin beef is with ALL of them.
IMO the Wings didn’t bungle anything. Until Larkin did what he did. Then yes, Illich did.
This started when Larkin demanded a trade to 3 teams and 3 teams only, eventually adding a 4th one. None of which made sense from a cap or asset perspective. So it was a stupid request, and basically gave the entire organization, including his teammates the middle finger.
Yzerman wasn’t fired for performance or it would have happened right after the season ended. Instead it happened in July, when no AGM’s, or unemployed GM’s of quality were available. And if the reports were true that Yzerman suggested trading Larkin earlier for future type assets, and Illich shut the deal down, well that isn’t on Yzerman is it.
I would have done one of the following 2 things if I was Illich.
Keep Yzerman and let him do his job, and not let an unrealistic player demand determine the entire direction of the franchise.
Or if you actually believed you could keep the malcontent Larkin long term by firing Yzerman, then you should have made Horcoff interim GM for the year until he either earns the job full time, or the hiring season opens after this season.
But, the timeline suggests none of this uncertainty even happens if Larkin doesn’t do what he did. The way he did.
I hope for Wing fans that he actually commits to the team for this season and plays at a level that proves he has. We will see I guess.
Amazing! How did I know yesterday what Lyle would post today!
I’ll repeat what I posted yesterday. Hughes has confidence in his young goalies. He will not use his tradable assets, not to mention cap space, on a goalie in his mid 30s with a huge cap hit. Both are better spent on a #2 center or a goal scoring winger.
are the Wild REALLY considered contenders for the Cup ? sure they have stars like Kaprizov,Hughes and Boldy. But when you look at that roster, they lost all of their secondary scoring. Sorry but Coleman-Hartman-Brink is a 3rd line at best, not a 2nd line. They don’t seem to have the prospects or cap space to acquire more secondary depth scoring. Joel Eriksson-Ek is a good two way center but a #1 ? not sure about that. And he gets hurt a lot.
Can Wallstadt become the #1 goalie ?
Totally agree. They are a 3 headed monster plus a good goalie tandem.
That is not a Cup contender.
Those 3 skaters might carry them to the playoffs, but without a better 1C (plus some added scoring help on lines 2 and 3) this is more of a borderline playoff team than Cup contender to me.
Related: Guerrin just got an extension too. I wouldn’t have done that until the Hughes saga was resolved. If Hughes walks for nothing, this isn’t even a playoff team next year.
Waivers this year are going to have a few good players on there up for grabs. I’m hoping a few get overlooked and picked up by my team.
“I’m with Wegman that it’ll likely be Larkin before Hellebuyck. He believes there’s a larger market for a first-line center in his prime than a high-priced goaltender.”
It doesn’t matter what size the market is for a 1C if the 1C isn’t willing to expand his trade list.
I’d personally be surprised if Larkin isn’t still on the team leading up to the deadline, and I wouldn’t be very surprised to see Larkin play the entire season in Detroit.
Hellebuyck to Detroit for Gibson, Bear and a 3rd
Then:
Werenski to Detroit for Edvinsson, Danielson and 2 1sts.
Larkin stays. Detroit becomes legit playoff team.
Doubtful that John Gibson waives for Winnipeg.
I’m not trading Carter Bear for a 33 year old suspended Connor Hellebuyck who’s been crap in the playoffs.
Detroit is in no position to give up 4 equivalent 1st round picks for Zach Werenski
Well, Danielson is at best a 3C
And Gibson is done…Winnipeg does not need and old tender and a 3rd for Hellebyuck
Why would Winnipeg accept crap to enrich other teams Columbus
Detroit is in a great position. Deep prospect pool. Cap space. Finished just 3/4 wins out of playoffs. You don’t think reigning Norris trophy winner and 3x Vezina winner gets you there?
That would have me believing in man-made miricles!😆
That would keep Debrincat there!
And that’s a very good thing.
Update on Larkin:
He went through a full practice today in standard gear and was a full participant in the skate with no contact limitations.
I know yawl are thrilled to learn more on the Larkin debacle! 😉
Not reporting when you’re under contract is the stupidest move a player can make, we have seen goalies hold out and then have their worst or at least a bad season.
Winnipeg will ride skinner and grab a goalie off waivers to backup Skinner, Brossoit when Anaheim waives him.
Sens will try to waive Leevi Meriläinen, Jets could bring him back home. (draft pick given up for DeMelo).
Larkin at least can lean on an injury for now but I don’t see anybody chasing Detroit down for him.
Any team that needs a C doesn’t have one to send back to balance a trade.
Not reporting to camp is a stupid move any player can make, regardless of position. It rarely works out, as the player starts the season behind his teammates in conditioning, especially if the holdout lasts for weeks, and it can lead to injuries. It also doesn’t sit well with fans, who usually blame the player, especially if the team struggles in his absence, as it makes them look selfish.
HabsFan30 You’re spot on, if either of those tenders are available on waivers in the next week Chevy will put in a claim to match some experience with Skinner.
Sorry wrong forum but can someone please explain why Bedard and Hughes both rank significantly higher than Johnston in both Sportsnet and TSN top 50. All Johnston has done is play every game improved his point total and win 50% of his faceoffs. Last year 45 goals!! I take him any day over those two.
So would I. Glad you brought that up, Jeff.
I am glad Montreal are showing no interest in Hellebuyck. With the baggage around him right now do you really want that in such a tight locker room?
Montreal needs to run with the Dobeš/Fowler tandem no need to add an old goalie with questionable postseason numbers.
As I said here before no way Larkin gets traded if a useful center comes back with a pick. Whatever Stevie Y. was doing atleast he was in control. He seemed like he was more aggressive in Tampa and gun shy in Detroit, but in control just the same. They have had a poor offseason, have a unsigned d-man with talent, average at best Gibson, and bad contracts in Compher, Copp and even Rasmussen at a lesser level. Best D is Seider and he has his poor moments and games. Playoffs no way as currently constructed. Oilers do not need Helle. I really think Levi is going to come up big, bounceback for Jarry and whenever healthy Anderson is good. thx
Only one place for Helle. NJ NJ NJ. They are not fooling me with the Jake Allen confidence. Without an upgrade forget the playoffs this year. Jets can get a 1st and a 3rd and move on, maybe add in Kovacevic instead of the 3rd. Just move on because these distractions are never good. I like Skinner. thx
Mehta has recently said that he prefers to spend cap room at positions that you can measure the metrics that contribute to wins, he finds that goalies can be erratic and that he would have difficulty dedicating that amount of his overall cap in that position as compared to a top end forward or dman who may more regularly impact the outcomes favorably. With this philosophy, I think this pretty much scratches Helle and his $8.5 mil hit out of any future plans the Dev’s may have. Long term plan is probably to make sure they have some assets and cap ability in case the third brother comes available, until Quinn signs long term in Minny I think the NJ GM is keeping his options open, another X against Helle. Bucky is running out of suitors….
Pens need a goalie!! But they would take any goalie Helly might displace. Maybe Gibson wants to go home to Pittsburgh?
To Detroit Helly
To Pitts Gibby
To Winny Silovs, Brunicke, Compher, Copp
I don’t see Helle being traded until the new year, not until a contending team decides their goaltending definitely needs an upgrade. That need will also yield the best return.
I doubt any team will make the deal now, this close to the season. Such a move may disrupt their locker room this close to the season.