The Colorado Avalanche have a couple of rivals in the Central Division. Despite the Winnipeg Jets’ down year, they remain a threat. They finished 12th out of 16 in the Western Conference and seventh in the Central Division.
Connor Hellebuyck missed 12 games for the Jets in November/December after undergoing knee surgery. However, when he returned, his Jets team won just one game of his next 11 games.
The Jets’ down year has caused some chatter in NHL circles. The latest is that Hellebuyck could actually end up being traded at some point. With the 2026 NHL Draft coming up quick, it’s possible that a move happens sooner than later. That’s just speculation, of course.
NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman mentioned recently that there is “a lot of noise” around Hellebuyck. What does that mean, exactly? To me, it sounds as if there is even just a small possibility that Hellebuyck is moved. It could be that he’s frustrated with how this past season went for the Jets. Maybe a fresh start is exactly what he needs.
The Avalanche were 2-2 against the Jets this past season. Hellebuyck started all four of those games. While the Avs did put up three goals in two of the four matchups, and one both of those games, Hellebuyck still has played pretty well against the Avalanche. There are times where it gets frustrating how close these games are when the two teams hit the ice together.
Ultimately, if Hellebuyck ends up getting moved, pending any sort of acquisition of a starting-calibre replacement, the Jets’ starter would become Eric Comrie. Comrie has gradually started more and more games for the Jets over the past couple of seasons, having started 24 games in 2025-26, a career-high. He has one game against the Avalanche—a loss in 2024-25, when he allowed three goals off of 36 shots.
Hellebuyck is a former Vezina trophy winner. His down year in 2025-26 is something that the Avalanche will look at if he ends up staying in Winnipeg. It would be a much greater focus for them if that remains the case. If not, he wouldn’t end up in the Central Division, as blockbuster trades such as that one would typically never happen, especially for a star goalie.
Hellebuyck is 33-years-old and still has some years left. The best-case scenario for the Avalanche is that he forces his way out of Winnipeg, hopefully in the Eastern Conference.
At best, the Jets would probably become a wildcard team if Hellebuyck ends up leaving. The Avalanche wouldn’t be able to put on the brakes just because Hellebuyck would be gone, but it would probably make life so much easier for them if that happened.
Hellebuyck’s departure from the Central Division would be a welcome thing for the Avs and Avs Faithful. Any time an opposing team gets weaker, it’s obviously a tremendous thing. It’s a wait-and-see thing, though. We’ll see how it all shakes out in the coming weeks/months, but there could be something there in the rumor.
As for right now, however, these are all just rumors. We’ll see what happens as we get closer to the NHL Draft.
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