Jets proving they don’t rely on Connor Hellebuyck

Oct 15, 2026, 17:00 EDT

Hellebuyck publicly confirmed his trade request on August 27.

Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

It looked like it was going to be a bleak season for the Winnipeg Jets, who saw their franchise goalie Connor Hellebuyck demand a trade this summer after a 2025-26 campaign in which they slumped from winning the Presidents’ Trophy to out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs altogether.

But the early returns are great, as a galvanized group of Jets who remain excited to play in Winnipeg have gotten off to a 4-1-1 start that has them in first place in the Central Division by points percentage.

Summer free agent acquisition Stuart Skinner is off to an impressive start, posting a .917 save percentage and 2.47 goals against average while earning a record of 3-0-1 in his four starts. Backup Clay Stevenson, claimed off waivers during the preseason, has been strong as well.

On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton were joined by Andrew Paterson of Winnipeg Sports Talk to discuss how Skinner and Stevenson’s early effectiveness has allowed the Jets to thrive despite Hellebuyck’s absence.

Andrew Paterson: This is a team that is playing with a chip on its shoulder right now… I think they feel like they have been written off. We always talk about the ‘nobody believes in us’ team. That is the Winnipeg Jets this year, in my opinion, and I think they’re sort of leaning into it. Hellebuyck decided that they weren’t good enough so he’s at home doing nothing right now. They look around that room and think that, ‘You know what? This team was a lot more than Connor Hellebuyck the last number of years.’ And they’re going to show everyone this season, and they’ve done it so far. It’s been a lot of fun, and the atmosphere, I’ve got to tell you guys, with Stuart Skinner coming in along with Clay Stevenson, the support that those two guys in particular have been getting from Jet fans, it has been very different than previous years, but I would say the vibes around the team, especially with some early wins in the season, have been as good as they’ve been in a long time.

Carter Hutton: You look at Brady Tkachuk, Dylan Larkin and then obviously Connor Hellebuyck. The big three that are Team USA guys trying to get moved out… [The Jets] have handled this with grace. Do you think this is a factor of saying like ‘We’re so much more than just Connor Hellebuyck’ or is it just the fact that this is just a great hockey team to begin with that and Connor Hellebuyck was just one little piece to that?

Andrew Paterson: Well listen, I’d be the first one to tell you they weren’t a great hockey team last year… They had a terrible season last year. Aside from the Hellebuyck stuff, there was a lot of guys on this team that have a lot to prove this year, and they leaned into that, and I think they have embraced it, but the Hellebuyck thing has just taken and put kind of gas on the fire in a lot of ways.