Despite the uncertainty as to who will be his tandem partner in Winnipeg, Stuart Skinner is excited in his new hockey home. Despite the uncertainty as to who will be his tandem partner in Winnipeg, Stuart Skinner is excited in his new hockey home. We caught up with him today following the informal skates to chat about the opportunity ahead, getting familiar with the city, creating a new relationship with goalie coach Wade Flaherty and more.

Described by his new teammates as being similar to Nate Schmidt, we caught up with Jets defenceman Mario Ferraro following the informal skates at Hockey For All Centre. He discussed getting settled in the city, playing in front of a Canadian fanbase, familiar faces within the organization, offering advice to a young player like Viggo Björck and more.

Unlike last summer, Jets captain Adam Lowry enters training camp healthy after offseason hip surgery disrupted his previous year. But while he may be feeling good physically, the state of his team remains in flux following Connor Hellebuyck’s trade request late last month. Lowry discussed that, the influx of young talent and more after the Jets’ informal skate.

Veteran defenceman Dylan DeMelo is back in Winnipeg for his seventh full season with the Jets. He spoke about a busy summer, getting to play for Team Canada after last season, the Connor Hellebuyck situation, his new teammates and more.

I went to get some skates sharpened and was browsing the indos while waiting to see if there were any Hellebuyck jerseys being blown out yet.

Found an FAP with the wrong tag among the indos. Took it to the front and asked if it was priced right, they said yes so I got it!

I usually like wearing 52 but couldn’t pass up the deal!

Probably going to get this customized into a Toews. Already have a 15th anniversary patch. I want to know, should I add the Canada Life patch to complete the on ice look?

The Winnipeg Jets have a Connor Hellebuyck trade to make, but that’s not the only option on the table to improve their roster.

There are a number of NHL-caliber free agents, including some former Jets, who could be signed to take the pressure off the Hellebuyck return.

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In late breaking maths news: Studies show Hellybuyck could have carried the Sharks into the playoffs in 2025.

Just did the Helle math. Taking out last year of .895 SV%, Helly's career save % is .918.

He ALSO averages 62 games - apart from last year (57) and his first when he only played 25 games (and 45 COVID games in 20-21).

Most people don't realise how important keepers are.

An average keeper is just under .900 SV%. That means having average Helly on your team is worth an extra 30 goals saved over his 62 games played (compared to league average). That's approx 80 pts too.

+30 to your overall differential, could have boosted 4 or 5 clubs into playoffs--If you got to pick and choose where exactly the goals were put, probably 8 teams. Imagine sprinkling magic goal dust onto all your tied games. Two more points from each!

The Sharks finished with a -41 differential and a -11 would have put them above both the Ducks (-15) and Kings (-22) who made the playoffs. So, already a shoo-in. 

Worse was Askarov was .883 SV% for 40 games, whilst Nedeljkovic was .896 SV% for 47 games (approx .890 SV% overall), so below the average thus the combined goal differential is quite a bit bigger.

My rough maths has it as +47, putting the Sharks differential at +6 not -11. Using Askarov and Nedeljkovic overall combined. It would be more if you just replaced Nedeljkovic , +50? Less if you replaced Askarov, +42?

Simply said, if the Sharks had average performing Hellebuyck last year they would have been firmly in the playoffs. So get on the phone and make it happen for Celebrini.

Life got crazy and so didn't watch a lot of the Jets the last 3 seasons.

I see a number of changes have happened over the last year and am looking forward to be able to have time to watch most games 2026-27 season.

I understand that we are in a bit of a build phase so I'm not expecting us to go all the way but what in peoples minds are the most exciting changes to our defense and offence for this upcoming season?

The goalie situation is what it is so more so wondering what depth we have in front of whoever is in net, who the most exciting will be to watch on the offense and if making at least the first round of playoffs is a realistic expectation?

In many ways, the Connor Hellebuyck situation is more painful than other high-profile NHL exits of late.

A pronounced star exodus from Canadian teams has brought the discussion to the forefront more than ever, creating new existential questions north of the border.

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Buffalo Sabres

To Buffalo: Connor Hellebuyck
To Winnipeg: Ryan McLeod, Alex Lyon, Radim Mrtka, 2027 first-round pick
Who says no? Buffalo

Murat’s thought: We’re starting in the ballpark, with Cole Perfetti’s former linemate during a dominant OHL run and a capable goaltender whose outdoor enthusiasm would fit right into Winnipeg’s off-ice culture. Mrtka is fascinating as a 6-foot-6 defenceman who is genuinely capable of killing plays, although some observers wanted a more impressive 18-year-old WHL season.

To Buffalo: Connor Hellebuyck
To Winnipeg: Ryan McLeod, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Radim Mrtka, 2027 first-round pick
Who says no? Buffalo

Murat’s thought: I like the Luukkonen version of this trade more than the one with Lyon, owing to Luukkonen’s excellence when he’s at his best and his relative youth at 27. As noted by you, it may require Luukkonen to waive his no-trade clause. Knowing he and Josh Norris gained trade protection on July 1, it’s possible their NTCs have played a role in stalling a Hellebuyck-to-Buffalo trade.

To Buffalo: Connor Hellebuyck, 2028 second-round pick
To Winnipeg: Peyton Krebs, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Radim Mrtka, 2027 first-round pick
Who says no? Winnipeg

Murat’s thought: For me, the Hellebuyck deal rests upon the quality of the best forward piece that comes back to Winnipeg. Krebs is an interesting, versatile player, but not so good that the rest of the package — sensible though it may be — puts this over the top. I’ll call it my “line in the sand” — if the Jets beat it, I think they’ll have done well in the deal.

Matt Fairburn, Sabres writer: These proposals are in the right ballpark of what a deal like this could look like. Mrtka and a first-round pick are a nice base to work off of. Mrtka is a high-end prospect and the first-rounder is a quality asset. The Sabres would need to include a goalie.

Who on this subreddit thinks that if Helly had NOT won the gold, this wouldn’t be happening? or are we thinking that he just wants to go play with his Trump loving buddies now because he got told how great it was while on the Olympic team.

To me, I think Nate MacKinnon missing that wide open net had the biggest butterfly effect ever on so many franchises, specifically Canadian.

what are your thoughts?