Two Franchise Stars Want Out: Hellebuyck's Holdout and Larkin's Trade Request

WINNIPEG — The Connor Hellebuyck holdout has no end in sight: still suspended without pay, still waiting on a trade his own general manager admits has no timeline. And some 700 miles east, former Detroit captain Dylan Larkin has his own trade request in — watching Sunday's loss from the sidelines with an upper-body injury. Four days into the season, two franchise stars want out, and the NHL's first real drama is unfolding in GM offices instead of on the ice.

“Still undefined”

Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff spoke with TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger as the season opened, and his message was candor without comfort: “Well, in situations like this, you never know,” Cheveldayoff said. “You don't have a crystal ball. When I was first made aware of the situation, the conversations that Connor's representation and myself had were very clear and explicit that this could take a while. What ‘a while' means I guess, is still undefined.”

The timeline is stark. Hellebuyck, a three-time Vezina Trophy winner, made his trade request public late in the offseason after the Jets couldn't move him. He didn't report to training camp. The team suspended him indefinitely without pay, and he surrendered his first game cheque when Winnipeg opened Friday against Boston — the first season opener since 2015-16 without Hellebuyck in the Jets' net.

The contract, the decline, the leverage problem

Hellebuyck is 33, in year three of a seven-year, $59.5 million contract carrying an $8.5 million annual cap hit through 2030-31. Last season was the worst of his career: 57 games (his fewest since 2020-21), a 23-23-11 record, a 2.86 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage — a career low and his first season under .900. He rebounded to backstop Team USA to Olympic gold in February, but NHL GMs pay for what comes next, not what happened in Milan.

He also holds a full no-movement clause. He's willing to waive it for several clubs — but according to TSN's Geno Reda, none of the other Canadian teams are on his list. That's the bind in one sentence: elite pedigree, heavy contract, a down year, and a short list of approved destinations.

What Winnipeg wants — and who's actually calling

The Jets aren't shopping a distressed asset; they're shopping a franchise goalie, and the price reflects it. On Daily Faceoff LIVE, The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta said the mandate echoes Columbus's handling of Kirill Marchenko before his trade to Toronto — GM Don Waddell's line was “we're not trading him for futures, we need somebody now.” In Winnipeg, Pagnotta said, the Jets will take some futures, but the core of the return has to help immediately — Pagnotta said the ask comes down to “two forwards or a forward and a defenseman, whatever it ends up being.”

So far, nobody's met the price. Dreger reported the Jets haven't received any offers of “fair value in return for an elite-level goaltender in Hellebuyck with years remaining on his contract.” The Jets held talks with the Buffalo Sabres before the June draft; nothing came together. TSN's Pierre LeBrun pointed to the Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes and Utah Mammoth as possible landing spots, and Elliotte Friedman's reporting has Carolina still among the suitors — while dismissing the idea that defenseman Alexander Nikishin (who has his own trade request and no interest in signing with Winnipeg) would be part of Carolina's pitch.

San Jose “kicked tires,” per Friedman via San Jose Hockey Now, with the believed asking price sitting at a first-round pick, a top-six forward (preferably a center) and a goalie or prospect. And Edmonton? Sportsnet's Frank Seravalli floated the idea after the Oilers' goaltending wobbled through opening week — Tristan Jarry gave up six goals on 23 shots in the 6-5 overtime loss to Vancouver; Devon Levi gave up seven on 22 in the 9-7 win — but Seravalli himself called it “a real longshot”: the no-movement clause, the cap math and a thin trade-asset cupboard all work against it.

Meanwhile, the crease belongs to Skinner

Stuart Skinner signed a two-year deal in July as insurance — and, in an irony nobody in Winnipeg misses, he shares an agent with Hellebuyck. Thrown straight into the fire, he's been steady: 26 saves in Friday's 4-3 overtime loss to Boston, then 33 saves in Sunday's 3-2 win over Detroit. “Give my team a chance to win — that's the goalie's job,” he said, and so far he's doing it. The Jets also claimed Clay Stevenson off waivers from Washington; Friedman wondered if a strong Stevenson might ease the need for a goalie in the Hellebuyck return at all.

The result: 1-1-0 without their franchise goalie, a power play humming (3-for-4 Sunday), and a locker room that has to answer Hellebuyck questions every single day. A strong start might even harden Winnipeg's stance — as Pagnotta noted, if Skinner and Stevenson look like a real duo, the Jets can afford to wait for their price instead of blinking.

Larkin: Detroit's former captain wants out too

Standing across the ice Sunday was the other half of the story. Dylan Larkin — the former Red Wings captain — has requested a trade, and he watched Detroit's 3-2 loss in Winnipeg from the sidelines with an upper-body injury. Coach Todd McLellan said Larkin would miss both weekend games, per Helene St. James. Marco Kasper (upper body, hurt in the 2-0 opening-night loss to the Rangers) also sat.

The Red Wings are 0-2-0, their former captain wants out, and John Gibson's 24 saves Sunday could only keep it close. A footnote with some poetry: Larkin and Hellebuyck are both Michigan natives. The season's biggest trade saga is, for now, a very Michigan-flavored mess.

What's next

Winnipeg moves on with no clarity and no deadline — the asking price stays high, the suitors circle, and Skinner keeps the net warm. Detroit navigates life without its captain while the calls come in. Two stars, two trade requests, one suspension: the season's first real drama isn't happening on the ice. It's happening in GM offices. Elsewhere on the rumor mill, the status quo holds between Quinn Hughes and Minnesota, and Detroit defenseman Simon Edvinsson is drawing interest around the league.

See Sunday's full NHL roundup for all five finals, the Barkov LTIR news and the complete injury report.