It’s been quite a day for Avalanche fans. First, there was the most welcome news of the Cale Makar extension finally coming to fruition. While, at the time of this writing, there hasn’t been an official announcement, it’s pretty much a fait accompli that it will happen.
Parallel to the Makar extension news, another major NHL story made the headlines. Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, via his agent, issued a statement making it crystal clear that he had requested a trade.
As soon as the news hit the airwaves, online chatter rekindled rumors about Hellebuyck potentially landing in Colorado.
Does that seem like a coincidence?
It certainly seems curious that the Makar extension confirmation hit the news wire, and then Hellebuyck came out with his statement hours later.
Could it be that Hellebuyck’s camp was just waiting for the Makar deal to finalize before pushing the Jets to trade him?
Of course, this thought is purely conspiratorial at this time. There is nothing to suggest that’s the case beyond fans and pundits reviving talk of Hellebuyck heading to Colorado. But you have to wonder about the timing.
If there’s anything I’ve learned over years of study and research, it’s that there are no coincidences. Everything happens for a reason.
You just have to pay attention to the data points.
Why Hellebuyck to Colorado makes sense now
Even if the Avalanche maxed out Cale Makar at $20 million AAV, the contract wouldn’t kick in until the 2027-28 season. That means the Avalanche have one more year of Makar at a ridiculous $9 million.
Meanwhile, Hellebuyck comes in at $8.5 million. While the Avalanche have $404K at the moment, that could change with a trade.
If the Avalanche traded two pieces like MacKenzie Blackwood and Nic Roy, well, the club would have just enough cap space to fit Hellebuyck’s contract under the cap.
As implausible as the entire situation seems, it’s also worth noting that the Avalanche have a projected $32 million in cap space for next season. In other words, this deal works now. It would be the ultimate win-now move, and getting an all-world, gold-medal-winning goaltender more than offsets the loss of a third-line center and a solid NHL starting goalie.
Yes, there are no-movement clauses involved with Blackwood (six-team) and Hellebuyck. But assuming that Hellebuyck’s camp pulls a Brady Tkachuk and demands a trade to Colorado, well, there won’t be much to think about.
At the end of the day, this is merely a thought exercise. But it’s hard to ignore the timing of events. Let’s see what unfolds.
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