There continues to be speculation regarding the possibility of the Colorado Avalanche being in on Connor Hellebuyck.
Officially, it’s just hearsay at this point. No one has officially confirmed anything, with insiders like Elliotte Friedman running on a hunch. That’s why a comment that he made in the latest edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast got me thinking about the Avalanche, Hellebuyck, and MacKenzie Blackwood.
"I’ve heard there’s at least one other goalie that, either the Jets looked at or were offered to them, who now has Winnipeg on his no-trade as of July 1.”
Friedman seemingly made the comment in passing, but there’s a lot to unpack there. What if the Avalanche talked to the Jets about Hellebuyck, Blackwood’s name came up, and the deal just didn’t work out because of the other pieces involved?
As I pointed out in another piece, the Jets turned down a massive offer from the Florida Panthers for Hellebuyck, and if that’s the sticker price on the three-time Vezina winner, then Colorado would have had a hard time matching that.
So, as the trade didn’t materialize, what if Blackwood got wind of the situation and proceeded to add the Jets to his no-trade list?
To be clear, the NHL does not disclose which teams are on players’ no-trade lists. The only thing that’s public information is the number of teams on a player’s list. The only thing we know for sure is that Blackwood has a six-team no-trade list. And that list has to be submitted every year on July 1. It’s usually paperwork that a player’s agent handles.
But instead of it just being boilerplate stuff this summer, Blackwood might have instructed his representation to ensure that the Jets were on the list, effectively barring any possibility of a trade.
Blackwood not the only goalie to block trade to Winnipeg
Another one of the teams hot on Hellebuyck’s trail was the Buffalo Sabres. The club had the ammo to pull off the deal at the draft, but ultimately couldn’t do it. The Sabres were willing to send the fourth-overall pick in this year’s draft, but wanted the eighth pick in return. The Jets reneged on the idea of swapping picks, instead wanting to keep both top-10 picks.
But what kicked the deal down for good was the fact that the Sabres offered Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in the deal. Well, Luukkonen said no. Apparently, Winnipeg is on his no-trade list, too. What’s unclear is whether the Jets were on his list before or after the purported deal before the Draft.
So, that’s two goalies who could have blocked a trade to the Sabres. But there’s one other who might have thrown a spanner into the works. That would be Karel Vejmelka of the Utah Mammoth. Utah was rumored for a while to have thrown its hat into the ring. However, nothing really came out of it.
Now, the idea of Blackwood and Vejmelka blocking a deal to Winnipeg is a matter of speculation. There is one interesting report that posits this to be the case. Take that with a pound of salt, as it is just unconfirmed chatter. On my end, this is an intellectual exercise in which I consider it very likely that Blackwood was the goalie that Friedman mentioned in his report on Friday morning.
As for Luukkonen, that’s pretty much a fact. Several sources have reported that Luukkonen blocked a deal to Winnipeg, including Friedman.
So, the plot thickens. If the Avalanche are really in pursuit of Hellebuyck, the Jets may have to settle for a goalie prospect, which makes me think that Ilya Nabokov could suddenly become attractive.
But that’s just another supposition on my part. Let’s wait and see if any confirmed reports come out of any of this.
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