Connor Hellebuyck may be willing to play for the Montreal Canadiens. The much bigger question this morning is whether the Canadiens have any interest in acquiring him.
That distinction has suddenly become important in the latest Connor Hellebuyck trade rumors.
Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons recently reported that the Winnipeg Jets goaltender would report “in a minute” if traded to either the Montreal Canadiens or Edmonton Oilers. That immediately put Montreal into the middle of the Hellebuyck speculation.
Now there is significant pushback.
James Murphy of The Sick Podcast reported that an NHL source says the Canadiens have not inquired about Hellebuyck and have not held trade conversations with the Winnipeg Jets. The source described Montreal as comfortable with its current goaltending situation and unwilling to surrender the type of roster assets Winnipeg could demand.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the first report was wrong.
Hellebuyck can be willing to play in Montreal while Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes simultaneously has little interest in trading for him.
And that may be the most important development yet.
Why the Montreal Canadiens Report Changes the Hellebuyck Trade Picture
There are really two separate stories unfolding here.
The first concerns Hellebuyck’s preferred destinations. If Montreal and Edmonton are indeed teams he would accept, that potentially expands Winnipeg’s options for moving a player who carries significant contractual control over where he goes.
The second concerns whether either organization actually wants to pay Winnipeg’s price.
In Montreal’s case, the latest reporting suggests the answer is currently no.
Murphy’s source told The Sick Podcast that “the Montreal Canadiens have not inquired about Connor Hellebuyck.” That is considerably different from saying Montreal has discussed a deal and walked away because Winnipeg’s asking price was too high. According to this report, the Canadiens have not reached that stage.
That makes sense when you examine the roster Kent Hughes has constructed.
Montreal currently has Samuel Montembeault, Jakub Dobes and highly regarded prospect Jacob Fowler in its NHL goaltending picture. We list their 2026-27 cap hits at $3.15 million, $965,000 and approximately $946,000 respectively.
Hellebuyck represents an entirely different level of commitment.
Who Can Fit Connor Hellebuyck?
Can Montreal Actually Fit Connor Hellebuyck Under the Salary Cap?
Hellebuyck carries an $8.5 million cap hit through the 2030-31 season. His contract contains a no-movement clause for 2026-27 before converting to modified trade protection later in the deal.
Montreal has approximately $2.784 million in current cap space against the $104 million ceiling.
That leaves Montreal roughly $5.716 million short of being able to simply absorb Hellebuyck’s full cap hit without sending salary elsewhere.
Even replacing Montembeault’s $3.15 million cap hit with Hellebuyck would add a net $5.35 million to Montreal’s books. Based on Montreal’s current projected room, NHLTradeRumor.com’s calculation leaves approximately another $2.566 million that would have to be cleared through additional roster movement.
So the money doesn’t make a Hellebuyck trade impossible.
It does make it complicated.
And that leads directly to what I believe is the bigger issue: why should Montreal pay Winnipeg’s acquisition cost when goaltending isn’t necessarily the Canadiens’ biggest roster weakness?
Hellebuyck’s Value Is Still Enormous, But There Is Risk
Hellebuyck’s résumé speaks for itself. He is a three-time Vezina Trophy winner and won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP in 2024-25. That season he went 47-12-3 with a 2.00 goals-against average, .925 save percentage and eight shutouts.
But last season looked dramatically different.
Hellebuyck finished 2025-26 at 23-23-11 with a 2.86 goals-against average and a career-low .895 save percentage as Winnipeg missed the playoffs.
Hellebuyck: From MVP Season to a Major Regression
Personally, I would not view one down season as evidence that Hellebuyck suddenly can’t be an elite NHL goalie.
His body of work is too substantial for that.
But NHL teams aren’t acquiring the 31-year-old who dominated the league in 2024-25. They would be trading significant assets and committing $8.5 million annually to a 33-year-old goaltender signed through age 38.
That changes the calculation considerably.
NHLTradeRumor.com Trade Value Index
My trade-value model also has to account for something that raw statistics don’t capture: Winnipeg’s leverage.
Hellebuyck requested a trade and then failed to report to training camp. The Jets subsequently suspended him. Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has nevertheless maintained that the organization will pursue a resolution that moves the franchise forward rather than making a trade simply to end the situation.
Connor Hellebuyck
That is why I wouldn’t expect Winnipeg to give Hellebuyck away.
At the same time, a trade request, contractual trade protection, a major cap hit and a limited number of clubs capable of absorbing both the contract and acquisition price can shrink the marketplace.
The Jets have an elite asset.
They don’t necessarily have an unlimited number of bidders.
What About the Edmonton Oilers?
Edmonton is where this story gets especially intriguing.
If the report that Hellebuyck would accept an Edmonton Oilers trade is accurate, there is an obvious hockey argument for exploring it. Edmonton remains a team built around winning during the prime years of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
The financial argument is much harder.
We project Edmonton with only about $1.078 million in cap space. Simply absorbing Hellebuyck’s $8.5 million cap hit would therefore leave a raw shortfall of roughly $7.422 million before any corresponding roster moves.
Montreal’s raw cap problem is substantially smaller.
But cap space isn’t the same thing as trade interest.
That distinction is the entire story.
The Canadiens may have greater flexibility to construct a Hellebuyck deal, while the latest report suggests they have little desire to do so. Edmonton could have a stronger reason to investigate an elite goaltender, but creating the necessary cap space would be significantly harder.
Did the New Canadiens Report Really Change Everything?
It changed the interpretation of the rumor more than the underlying facts.
An earlier report suggested Hellebuyck would be willing to play for the Montreal Canadiens or Edmonton Oilers. The newer report says Montreal hasn’t pursued him.
Those statements can both be true.
My read is that Montreal should now be viewed as a possible destination Hellebuyck might accept, not as a team currently known to be pursuing a trade.
That’s an important difference.
Unless Kent Hughes’ position changes or Winnipeg’s asking price falls considerably, there doesn’t appear to be evidence right now that a Canadiens-Hellebuyck blockbuster is close.
But Hellebuyck remains away from Jets camp, Winnipeg still has a major decision to make, and one of the NHL’s most accomplished goaltenders remains at the centre of the trade market.
That means the story is far from finished.
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