Hellebuyck, the three-time winner of the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goalie, publicly stated on Aug. 27 that he had requested a trade from the Jets earlier in the offseason.
“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, Ray Petkau. “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.”
Captain Adam Lowry told NHL.com on Sept. 8 that the Jets can’t spend time worrying about Hellebuyck’s situation and instead have to focus on the season.
The Jets, who won the Presidents’ Trophy as the team with the best record in the NHL two seasons ago, missed the postseason in 2025-26.
“Obviously the situation is what it is,” Lowry said after a captain’s practice. “(If) you spend so much time speculating on it you're going to drive yourself crazy. The situation is going to resolve itself one way or the other, and I think from our perspective we've got to focus on getting ourselves ready for camp, getting the team ready and things like that. And as long as he's a member of the Jets, we'll treat that situation as such.
“Until that time, I don't think it's worth our time in the locker room speculating what's going to happen. We've got to use the guys that are here and do our best to have a rebound year."
Hellebuyck won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player, as well as his third Vezina Trophy, when he went 47-12-3 with a 2.00 goals-against average, .925 save percentage and eight shutouts in 63 games in 2024-25. The Jets won the Presidents’ Trophy after finishing with the NHL’s best record (56-22-4) before losing to the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Second Round.
Winnipeg (35-35-12) missed the playoffs last season, finishing seventh in the Central Division and eight points behind the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference.
Hellebuyck was 23-23-11 with a 2.86 GAA and .895 save percentage in 57 games, the first time since the shortened 2020-21 season that he did not play at least 60 games. He missed four weeks early in the season, undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery, before returning on Dec. 13.
He went on to help the United States win the gold medal at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics, going 5-0 with a 1.18 GAA and .956 save percentage.
The 33-year-old is entering the third season of a seven-year, $59.5 million contract ($8.5 million average annual value) he signed on Oct. 9, 2023.
Hellebuyck was selected by the Jets in the fifth round (No. 130) of the 2012 NHL Draft. Since entering the League during the 2015-16 season, he leads goalies in games played (625) and starts (615), and is second in wins (345). Among goalies to play at least 300 games during that span, his .916 save percentage is third and his 2.58 GAA is tied for fourth.
He is one of four goalies, along with Dominik Hasek, Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy, to win the Vezina Trophy at least three times (2019-20, 2023-24, 2024-25) since NHL general managers began voting on the award in 1981.
