How Hellebuyck’s Trade Request Could Change Landscape for Former College Goalies: Puck Drop

Former Massachusetts-Lowell goaltender Connor Hellebuyck asking for a trade from the Winnipeg Jets seems destined to not only shake up the National Hockey League, but lead to numerous ripple effects that could impact numerous former collegiate goaltenders.

Roughly half of the teams in the league, 15 including the Jets, have at least one goaltender under contract who played at the college level. That doesn’t include the likes of Detroit Red Wings goaltender John Gibson, who committed to Michigan but never played for the Wolverines, or free agents like Cam Talbot (Alabama-Huntsville).

It also doesn’t factor some of the top prospects who recently played in the NCAA to help prepare for the NHL — including Trey Augustine (Michigan State) with the Red Wings, Michael Hrabal (Massachusetts) with the Utah Mammoth, and Hampton Slukynsky (Western Michigan) with the Los Angeles Kings — or those set to play this season in Division I.

Hellebuyck 33, so the clock is becoming a factor, and the three-time Vezina Trophy winner has played his entire 11-season NHL career for Winnipeg. It appears obvious that he wants to play for a Stanley Cup contender in the United States, which begins to narrow the trade options.

So do some other factors:

1) The salary cap is an issue as he’s in the third year of a seven-year contract for $59.5 million (six other goaltenders in the league have bigger deals), for an average cap hit of $8.5 million.

That’s workable with most teams as the salary cap ceiling is $104 million this season, with the Golden Knights, Maple Leafs and Stars over it as training camp approaches, and 18 teams so close that they would have to make room to accommodate his contract on its own (that obviously doesn’t include who could be subtracted by being part of the deal).

2) Many goaltenders have either a no-movement, or a no-trade clause to a set number of teams. Of course, they still could be traded if they waive the clause.

3) Each potential trading partner has to have assets that can be dealt and the Jets would want to acquire. That's not as easy as it sounds. For example, six first-round picks in the 2027 NHL Draft have already been traded, along with 14 second round selections.

There’s certainly been a lot of speculation about where he could end up and which team has the best chance to acquire the goal-medal Olympic goaltender (Buffalo, Carolina, Utah, New Jersey?), but Hellebuyck apparently made his request months ago and we’re now just 29 days away from the start of the 2026-27 season.

The Jets have obviously been working on this for a while, and yet there's still been no deal during the offseason. Having Hellebuyck go public is obviously a precursor to his not reporting to training camp, so all things considered it seems only a matter of time before he's traded, i.e. sooner or later. When that happens, who knows how many other goaltenders may be directly or indirectly impacted? It could be a lot.

"I have tried to handle the situation quietly and respectfully while giving the organization time to explore its options,” Hellebuyck said in a statement released by his agent. "With training camp approaching, I felt it was important to publicly confirm my request. My position has not changed. I believe moving on is the best path forward for me and my family."

Statement in response to Connor Hellebuyck’s request for a trade. pic.twitter.com/plv5xH92M4
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) August 27, 2026

Here’s how the NHL goaltending landscape looks, with colleges included. An "-x" means the player has a no-move clause for this season, and a "t" with number indicates he has a no-trade list with that many teams (the guess here is that a lot of them include the Jets).

Note: Contract details aren’t always available (for example, no one’s no-trade teams are revealed) and can change from year-to-year. Consequently, this list will be updated if necessary. A couple of players listed have professional tryout deals for training camp, including Cal Petersen (Notre Dame) and Chris Drieder.

Goaltenders Under Contract with NHL Teams

• Anaheim Ducks: Lukas Dostal; Volle Husso; Laurent Brossoit
• Boston Bruins: Jeremy Swayman-x (Maine); Michael Dipietro
• Buffalo Sabres: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen-t5; Alex Lyon (Yale); Colten Ellis
• Calgary Flames: Dustin Wolf-t10; Devin Cooley (Denver)
• Carolina Hurricanes: Pyotr Kochetkov; Brandon Bussi (Western Michigan)
• Chicago Blackhawks: Spencer Knight (Boston College); Arvid Söderblom
• Colorado Avalanche: MacKenzie Blackwood-t6; Scott Wedgewood
• Columbus Blue Jackets: Elvis Marzlikins-t10; Jet Greaves; Phoenix Copley (Michigan Tech)
• Dallas Stars: Jake Oettinger-x (Boston University); Casey DeSmith (New Hampshire)
• Detroit Red Wings: John Gibson-t10; Daniil Tarasov
• Edmonton Oilers: Tristan Jarry-t12; Frederik Andersen-t15; Devon Levi (Northeastern)
• Florida Panthers: Jacob Markstrom-t20; Akira Schmid
• Los Angeles Kings: Darcy Kuemper-t10; Anton Forsberg
• Minnesota Wild: Fillip Gustavsson-x; Jesper Wallstedt; Calvin Pickard
• Montreal Canadiens: Sam Montembeault; Jakub Dobes (Ohio State); Jacob Fowler (Boston College)
• Nashville Predators: Juuse Saros-x; Justus Annunen
• New Jersey Devils: Jake Allen-x; Nico Daws; David Rittich
• New York Islanders: Ikya Sorokin-x; Semyon Varlamov-t16; Vitek Vanacek
• New York Rangers: Igor Shesterkin-x; Joonas Korpisalo
• Ottawa Senators: Linus Ullmark-x; Samuel Ersson; Leevi Merilainen
• Philadelphia Flyers: Joseph Woll (Boston College); Dan Vladar-x
• Pittsburgh Penguins: Arturs Silovs; Sergei Murashov
• San Jose Sharks: Alex Nedeljkovic; Yaroslav Askarov; Eric Comrie
• Seattle Kraken: Philipp Grubauer-t10; Joey Daccord-t12 (Arizona State)
• St. Louis Blues: Jordan Bennington t-10; Joel Hofer
• Tampa Bay Lightning: Andrei Vasilevsky-x Jonas Johansson; Dennis Hildeby
• Toronto Maple Leafs: Sergei Bobrovsky-x; Anthony Stolarz-t16 (Omaha)
• Utah Mammoth: Karel Vejmelka-t10; Sebastian Cossa
• Vancouver Canucks: Thatcher Demko-x (Boston College); Kevin Lankinen-x; Chris Driedger
• Vegas Golden Knights: Adin Hill-t10; Carter Hart
• Washington Capitals: Logan Thompson-t15, Charlie Lindgren (St. Cloud State); Cal Petersen (Notre Dame)
• Winnipeg Jets: Connor Hellebuyck-x (Lowell); Stuart Skinner

10 Biggest NHL Contracts Among Former College Players

Former Massachusetts defenseman Cale Makar’s 8-year, $163.2 million contract extension with the Colorado Avalanche is worth $20.4 million annually and is the richest contract in NHL history. Obviously, that also makes it the biggest contract signed by a former college player, and by a huge margin:

1. Cale Makar, D, Massachusetts; Colorado Avalanche, $163.2 million, 8 years
2. Jack Eichel, C, Boston University; Vegas Golden Knights, $108 million, 8 years
3. Ryan Suter, D, Wisconsin; Minnesota Wild (2012), $98 million, 13 years
4. Zach Parise, LW, North Dakota; Minnesota Wild (2012), $98 million, 13 years
5. Kyle Conner, LW, Michigan; Winnipeg Jets, $96 million, 8 years
6. Macklin Celebrini, C, Boston University; San Jose Sharks, $94 million, 5 years
7. Jonathan Toews, C, North Dakota, Chicago Blackhawks (2015), $84 million, 8 years
8. Alex Tuch, RW, Boston College, Washington Capitals, $84 million, 8 years
9. Logan Cooley, C, Minnesota, Utah Mammoth, $80 million, 8 years
10. Charlie McAvoy, D, Boston University, Boston Bruins, $76 million, 8 years

Countdown to the 2026-27 Season

… 33 days.

Cookin’ something up 😈#RollToms | #FidesInFratrem pic.twitter.com/43OiUzcHfu
— St. Thomas Men’s Hockey (@TommieMHockey) August 28, 2026

Hockey Quote of the Day

"When a guy has that kind of intensity, it scares you."
Ken Hitchcock on Ed Belfour (UND)

This Date in Hockey History

August 30, 1964: Michigan Tech defenseman Dave Reierson was born in Bashaw, Alberta.

August 30, 1982: Former Northeastern forward Dave Poile was named general manager of the Washington Capitals. He was 32 at the time. One of his first moves was to trade for former New Hampshire standout Rod Langway from the Montreal Canadiens.

August 30, 1986: George Pelawa, the 1986 Mr. Hockey Award recipient in Minnesota, was killed in a car crash. The three-sport start had committed to North Dakota and was the 16th-overall selection in the 1986 NHL Draft by the Calgary Flames. Pelawa was 18.

We'll Leave You With This ...

Got the 9-time Natty Champs in the house tonight 👐 @BadgerWHockey pic.twitter.com/th3vwdDEqH
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) August 29, 2026

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