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Jets’ Cole Perfetti drops Connor Hellebuyck truth bomb amid trade rumors appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Cole Perfetti will be calling Winnipeg home for the foreseeable future after the 24-year-old signed a five-year, $30 million contract extension with the Jets last week — and he is hoping the same can still be said for teammate Connor Hellebuyck.
The star goaltender’s name continues to surface in the rumor mill, and Perfetti addressed the speculation when meeting with reporters to discuss his new contract on Monday.
“We know as much as everyone else in the city of Winnipeg,” the former 10th overall pick said, per NHL.com’s Derek Van Diest. “We’re very anxious to know too, I think everyone is. We obviously know how special he is as a player and as a person, and we want to be fighting with him day in and day out.
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“Whatever happens is out of our control, and there’s nothing we can do about it. We don’t know much, so I don’t have much to give you, but we’ll see what happens. But it’s pretty obvious everyone wants to continue to be his teammate and continue to play with him.”
Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has reportedly been listening to trade offers for the former Hart and Vezina Trophy winner, but nothing has materialized. Hellebuyck still has five seasons remaining on the seven-year, $59.5 million contract he signed in October 2023.
It was a highly disappointing 2025-26 campaign for the Jets, who went from winning the Presidents’ Trophy the year before as the NHL’s top team, to missing out on the Stanley Cup Playoffs altogether this spring.
That led to Hellebuyck dropping bombshell comments regarding the state of the franchise, and the trade rumors began not long after.
Perfetti also addressed the team’s drop in quality over the last year.
“This year wasn’t exactly how we planned on the ice, but you rewind two years ago, and we were the best team in the League throughout the regular season and everyone’s playing really well,” the Whitby, Ontario native said.
“That’s the kind of group that I know we have and what we all believe in and what we can accomplish. One down year I don’t think defines who we are as a group. I think we’re all really excited and looking forward to being a part of this. A lot of guys are still locked up for a while, and we’re going to come back together as a close team.”
Having Hellebuyck in the crease would certainly improve Winnipeg’s chances of returning to contender status. But with trade speculation continuing to swirl, it’s impossible to know whether he’ll be wearing a Jets sweater when the club opens its 2026-27 season against the Boston Bruins on Oct. 2.
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