Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic wrote Friday that Winnipeg Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck is looking for a contract with an average annual value around $9.5M. LeBrun notes that teams eyeing a trade for the 30-year-old netminder are aware of what Hellebuyck’s camp is seeking in contract negotiations. If Hellebuyck were to get that salary, it would put him in the same pay bracket as Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.
Hellebuyck was the 2020 Vezina Award winner (NHL's top goaltender) and has a long track record of putting up elite numbers. However, he has also had a handful of poor seasons. With teams having just seen the Vegas Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup with Adin Hill between the pipes, there might be a hesitancy to pay a premium in a trade – and an expensive cap hit – for a goalie who is on the wrong side of 30. You can’t fault Hellebuyck for asking for the moon. He was nominated once again for the Vezina after a terrific 2022-23 season in Winnipeg, on the strength of posting a 37-25-2 record with a .920 save percentage and a 2.49 goals against average.
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