Connor Hellebuyck Becomes The Latest Member Of Team USA's Gold Medal Hockey Team To Demand A Trade
Jonathan Kozub. Getty Images.Connor Hellebuyck is one of only 10 goalies who have won the Vezina Trophy 3 or more times. Connor Hellebuyck is one of just 8 goalies to ever win the Hart Trophy as the league's MVP. And this past February, he became just the 3rd goalie to ever win a men's Olympic gold medal for THE United States of America.
Oh, and he also added a Presidential Medal of Freedom to his list of accolades.
Needless to say, he is one of the best goaltenders on planet Earth. Sure, he hasn't had the most impressive track record when it comes to performances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But you can count on one hand the amount of hockey goalies in the world who are better than Connor Hellebuyck right now.
He got a real taste of winning for the first time in his career at those Olympics. Much like a lot of guys on that USA Men's Olympic Hockey roster. It was a roster filled with a lot of guys who, up until that point, could be labeled as perennial losers. Auston Matthews, the Hughes brothers, Dylan Larkin, Brady Tkachuk, Zach Werenski, Connor Hellebuyck. These guys all got a chance to find out that winning rules, and that they are sick of losing in the NHL. None of them have even gotten a chance to sniff the Cup in the building before.
So what happened this summer? Dylan Larkin demanded a trade out of Detroit, and gave Stevie Y a tight list of Dallas, Florida, and Vegas as trades he'd be open to. Brady Tkachuk requested a trade out of Ottawa and was sent down to play with his brother in Florida. There was a moment there where it seemed like Zach Werenski was on his way out of Columbus, but that cooled down after a few days. Quinn Hughes already got out of Vancouver before the Olympics, but now it doesn't sound like he's too interested in signing long term with Minnesota. Toronto was able to save themselves by winning the draft lottery, but who knows where things go with Auston Matthews when his contract is up.
And now we have Connor Hellebuyck publicly confirming his trade request out of Winnipeg.
Connor Hellebuyck is making $8.5M through the 2030-31 season. The most sickening possibility here is that he ends up with the Carolina Hurricanes, who seem to be strategically holding onto just about $10M in cap space. Imagine the defending Cup Champions go out there and land the defending gold medalist and 3x Vezina winner. He might actually get his name on the next Stanley Cup before the 7th Dundon cousin.
It might seem like the US men's hockey team is turning the NHL into the NBA with how much player movement and drama they are causing. But at the end of the day, it's a bunch of guys who all found out how sick it is to be a winner. The party at E11even. The ride on Air Force One to get to DC. These guys got a chance to party their dicks off, become national heroes, and now they want to win a Cup more than anything. Most of them realize they don't have a shot in hell with their current team. It might be a dick move to request a trade, but they'd rather be a dick now than end their career without their name on the Cup. If anything, that's hockey.