Should Jets and Red Wings consider swapping disgruntled stars?

Detroit Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin and Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck have quite a bit in common.

Both hail from the Great Lakes state of Michigan. Both played college hockey, Larkin at Michigan and Hellebuyck at UMass Lowell. Lastly, both were members of the 2026 U.S. Olympic men's hockey team that won a gold medal in Italy.

They're also both disgruntled NHLers who want out of their current organizations, the ones that drafted them and the only NHL homes they've ever known to this point.

So, what about swapping one for the other? It might not be as simple as that, but perhaps it’s worth considering.

Should Jets and Red Wings consider swapping Dylan Larkin and Connor Hellebuyck?

Larkin, 30, requested a trade from Detroit in June after 11 seasons with the Red Wings, a storied club that hasn’t qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2015-16. He’s averaged just over 70 points the last five campaigns, but the Wings faltered down the stretch in the spring and again missed the postseason.

In September, Larkin was stripped of his captaincy after wearing the “C” for six seasons, and it’s been reported he will miss all or most of training camp with an upper-body injury.

"I asked for a trade from the Detroit Red Wings as a captain and that has consequences," said Larkin to WCSX Radio. "I understand why that decision was made."

Hellebuyck, 33, was Captain America in February after backstopping the U.S. to its first Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey since Lake Placid in 1980. After returning to Winnipeg for the rest of the 2025-26 NHL season, he was in goal for 14 of 16 decisions, going 7-4-2. Three losses in six games to start April ended the Jets’ playoff hopes, though, one year after winning the Presidents' Trophy as regular-season champions.

By August, Hellebuyck was publicly asking for a ticket out of Winnipeg, and he was suspended by the Jets in September for refusing to report to training camp with five years remaining on his contract.

“I felt it was important to publicly confirm my request,” Hellebuyck said, via NHL.com. “My position has not changed. I believe moving on is the best path forward for me and my family.”

Salary-wise, a trade between the two would almost be a wash. Larkin is in Year 4 of an eight-year contract that pays him $8.7 million annually, while Hellebuyck is in the third year of a seven-year deal that earns him $8.5 million per season.

A sticking point is the small number of markets Larkin would be willing to waive his no-trade clause for — previously it was Florida, Minnesota, Vegas and Dallas. As an American citizen, he might not want to be dealt to a Canadian club, even though Winnipeg already boasts some top scorers in Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Gabe Vilardi and Josh Morrissey. 

Two of those are centers, like Larkin, but he can also play on the port side if need be. If the postseason is his immediate goal, though, Larkin might not be so bad off relocating to Manitoba. The Jets had made the playoffs three straight seasons before finishing .500 last season, missing out on a wild-card spot by eight points.

Hellebuyck, who also has a full no-movement clause, would be coming home to Michigan if he did go to Detroit, roughly 35 miles from where he grew up in Commerce Township. The biggest obstacle would be John Gibson, who's already entrenched in goal in Hockeytown. Gibson, 33, went 29-22-4 with a 2.72 goals-against average for the Red Wings last season after over a decade in Anaheim. 

If Hellebuyck were to be brought aboard, Gibson would almost certainly have to be moved. Still, goaltenders with 200-plus career NHL wins aren't waiting around every corner, and someone would likely take a flyer on the Pittsburgh native if he was offered up.

The soap operas in Michigan and Manitoba could drag on a while, as interim Detroit general manager Shawn Horcoff and Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff are going to seek the best deals for their respective teams rather than simply acquiesce to players who want to move on.

Trading one for the other, though, might solve both their problems.