Barn Burner: Boomer & Pinder with Rhett Warrener - What The HELL Happens With Connor Hellebuyck Now?? w/TSN's Darren Dreger | BB Clips

Episode Date: September 18, 2026

Boomer, Pinder and Rhett are joined by TSN’s Darren Dreger to dive into the latest twist in the Connor Hellebuyck saga after the Winnipeg Jets suspended their star goaltender for failing to report to training camp. Hellebuyck wants out, but Kevin Cheveldayoff says there’s no timeline for a trade and that Winnipeg isn’t going to move one of the NHL’s best goalies unless the return makes sense. Cheveldayoff also left the door open for Hellebuyck to play for the Jets again — but says that decision ultimately rests with the goaltender. Dreger has reported that the offers Winnipeg has received simply haven’t been good enough, leaving both sides stuck in an increasingly awkward standoff. So what the hell happens now? Does Hellebuyck eventually come back, does Winnipeg lower its asking price, or are we waiting for another team to finally step up with the blockbuster offer that gets this thing done?Video Link: https://youtu.be/KBTRR6VzBYI#nhl #nhlshorts #nhlplayoffs #nhlpredictions #nhlhockey #nhlpicks #stanleycup #stanleycupfinal #winnipegjetsCHECK OUT OUR STUFF ⬇️BARN BURNER MERCHhttps://nationgear.ca/collections/shirts/FlamesnationBARN BURNER SHORTS https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj_bcGtvvo-cW2DHEDZ6dEO5ePDmlhZc9&si=jo8iNGxT4ImhS2Y8📲 Follow us:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fnbarnburner/X (Twitter): https://x.com/barnburnerfn?lang=en🎧 Listen on:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/be/podcast/barn-burner-boomer-pinder-with-rhett-warrener/id1648562889Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Mc6Qd5U22R2zbMlQ7RxIiProducer: Jack Haverstock Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

you leave that you get back to southern ontario and back into the grind and it just it felt like it was heading a certain direction well conor hellibucks asked to be traded now he's definitely he's made it public he's asked to be traded well training camp's getting closer is he actually going to show up to camp feels hot tricky oh it's going to get suspended if he doesn't let's you know he's like he's going to show up because he's not going to get suspended right he's been suspended and you're kind of out in front on that story. And obviously I know the players now in the last 24 hours have come out and they're disappointed, obviously, one of their best players, one of their teammates, has kind of

abandoned them. The situation isn't great. And it feels like now this can only end in a trade. I guess I wonder how prepared is Kevin Shevolde off to take a trade? He's not loving or how much money is Hella Buck prepared to sacrifice if it goes into the regular season. We'll wait and see, but your take on it. Yeah. Well, that's the unknown, right? Is Winnipeg is shoveled a off in company ownership willing to at some point blink and say,

all right, well, that obviously is the best deal we can get. And I don't see that happening anytime soon. I don't. And, you know, some heat came my way and appreciably. I know shoveled a off was kind of asked about it. It was the word that I used last week in talking about the offers to date being terrible. Well, I sure prefaced it by saying the offer post-draft were and have been basically terrible, but terrible if we qualify in the sense that, all right, like, you know, you're talking about a three-time Vesno winner,

a hard trophy winner, a gold medal champion, the best goalie in the Winter Olympics, all of the decorations that come to Connor Hellebuk. Yeah. Great contract. Five years remaining on this deal that he signed in good faith with the Winnipeg Jets.

And Winnipeg, because Conor Halibuck wants out, should get an unproven player or an unproven goalie and a draft pick. And that should be good enough. Well, that doesn't sound good enough to me. And I understand. I appreciate the goalie market is a tricky one. It really, truly is. And a lot has been made that Conner's trade list is longer than average.

Well, it is, and it kind of isn't. Again, because he's a goaltender. And he's got zero Canadian teams on this list. He's got a number of American teams. but a good number of those American teams already have established goaltenders, right? Do some of them have interest in Hellebuck who they would obviously consider it as an upgrade on what they have? Yes, but at a bargain basement or a discounted price. And Winnipeg just hasn't been able to get there.

And you know, you could say, okay, in hindsight, maybe Buffalo and Winnipeg should have worked harder at the draft to get something done because you could certainly make the case that Hellebuck would make that Sabres team look better, sure he wouldn't. You know, there's been much speculated on why it didn't get done and a lot of finger pointing towards Kevin shoveled a off. But Yarmal Kek-a-Lyin didn't get the goalie that he was trying to get either. It takes two clubs, two general managers to find that sweet spot.

And they just, they weren't able to do it. So it's impossible to say with any authority that we know how this is going to end in Winnipe. We'd heard the speculation around the draft. It was just that, at that point, until Connor made the statement, then we need. okay, this is public. It's not speculation anymore. Right. But what does a fair package for Connor Hellebuck look like? Is it a platoon goalie, first rounder, prospect roster player, like those four pieces?

Yeah, that'd be great. Platoon goalie might be problematic. I think that Winnipeg feels that they should get a decent goalie or an up-and-coming goalie in return. But if that isn't available, if that asset isn't there, then I think that they have to be open for other upgraded positions. You know, if you're talking about a prospect, well, okay, it can't be a B prospect. It has to be an A prospect.

If you're talking about a player, it's probably a player. It would be a player that doesn't have trade protection because any player with trade protection isn't going to Winnipeg. That's just a harsh reality for the Winnipeg Jets. They deal with it multiple times over the course of the year. So is it a younger player that is an NHL player but doesn't have that trade protection? and then what sort of draft pick are we talking about. Look, I mean, all of this stuff is pying this guy.

And I think shovel day, I've tried to get as creative as he could throughout the course of the off season. But that shovel day of trying to get creative. And I don't think that there were many general managers who picked up the phone to say, hey, let's work at this. Let's try and between the group of scouts that we have and everybody, let's try and find this common ground to make this work. That didn't happen during the off season. It didn't.

But players, goaltenders, get injured all the time. What if you, you know, you're going into the season, and I'm not projecting this, how can you? It's just, again, it's a tough part of the business. Somebody that's significantly injured, taking out longer term, right? First 10 games of the regular season. Well, maybe that team comes back to the Winnipeg Jets and says, yeah, you know that conversation?

had where we were willing to give you unproven player X and a second round draft pick, okay, well, we're willing to do a little bit better than that. That might be what Winnipeg is waiting for. I got one more on Hellibuck and then we can move if you want, but it's sort of the trend of the offseason

drags has been high profile players with term left on their deals politely requesting for changes of scenery. And one of the issues I think that's cropped up is that when you sign a contract and a team gives you no trade, they're promising you they won't trade you, which is a great commitment. The team's making for the player.

Yeah. But now these lists are being turned into trade request lists, which really isn't the spirit of them. How do you fix that? And are the GMs having a big issue with this? Yeah, they're not loving it for obvious reasons. How do you fix it? I mean, I'm reminded of, you know, constant dialogue on this among owners, especially, and general managers where the owners and the league, the commissioner's office, would have sent a decade ago. Stop. giving out these no moves and no trades. Stop giving them out. Well, okay, that's easy to say.

It's not easy to do because every player that matters that has any sort of leverage is saying, well, that's great. I'm happy to come as an unrestricted free agent. I like how you've structured this deal. That works for me financially. I need the trade protection. I'm not going to dance my family through a circus. I'm not doing that.

So I don't know how you fix it. I don't. But the thing is, we're talking about the smallest percentage of the NHL. The reason that we talk about it, though, is because they're the headline guys. Right, right. You're not getting depth players or players who are in the back nine of their careers pulling this kind of stuff. And I think in fairness, you know, to look at Hellebuck again, where's he at in his career? He's in the back nine of his career.

You know, that's where he's at. and that's part of the criteria that works a little bit against him as well. But is there a quick fix for all of it? No, but I also think that it's because of the magnitude of the players, that it's garnered as much attention as it has. Yeah, I don't know what happens in Winnipeg. And, of course, you read so much stuff online.

Do you see the family? He was getting death threats after the Olympics and stuff. Yeah. I don't know what to tell you that. The guy has made a decision. And I'm guessing he realizes, the magnitude of it. Oh yeah. He understands the public impression that just the what he's doing to his team on the ice, the vibes of his teammates and friends off the ice,

the fan base. He knows the damage that's done to his, the brand, you know, just to his, but he's choosing to do it. So I think the only of this gets fixed is you play and you got to play well and remind the league that you are the best guy out there because he's been that. guy. No one else has three Veznas that's in this league. No one else has got a heart trophy as well as three Veznas. No one else has an Olympic gold that's like this is go out there and play is how this gets

solved. Remind all those GMs that this is an undeniably the best goal in the league because he's been that most his career. I agree with you in that take but then I'm just trying to play the other side maybe it is heat for Sheveldale. Maybe it is

right? Like you can it's easy for us to say why would you do that Hallowback? Why would give up that money, you should go play, blah, blah, blah, blah. No, trade me. Yeah. Yeah. And I, you have an, you've got a pot of gold and you don't get to use it. Yeah. I'm not sure if it was you who was saying yesterday or the one of the times we were talking about this that if you could go back in time, would help, would shovel day off have taken

whatever draft day deals, yeah, that draft day. Maybe he said didn't change my mind at all. Right. Sound like the best deals are at the draft day. Without knowing. I, it's a guess. But I, I kind of believe. the Jets, if they're saying the offers aren't. I've talked to people that are around that team. Yeah, I think the best things they saw was right before the draft and they thought they could squeeze a little more. And it's been cricket since.

It's kind of listening to Dregs. That matches with what our speculation was. Contracts eight and a half million and he's signed and he's a great. Well, he has been. He's now 33. He's got five more full seasons. And he hasn't pushed Winnipeg over the top. Yeah.

The playoff performance is. the one flying the waitment everything else is ironclad right yes we're just dating facts at this point the thing it comes down to though okay so winnipeg's got a team and they go out there and they stumble the first month pressure's on the gym you have to move them well i think i think so how do you sell it to the fans we're like while we're we're middling or less and we got i regret steward skinner best asset sitting I think, like maybe, we'll ask you what you guys think real quick, but like, I think he shows up when the money starts.

I wouldn't allow him in the, I was going to ask, I don't know what the rules and the, you probably are allowed to, but I'd be some pissed off. And I think that's a D, capital D move on his part if he shows up with the check start coming. We see this in other leagues,

but in the NHL, this is almost impressed. I do not. And if he did, I would put him in the other dressing. Here's your dressing room. You get, You get a, there's a janitor's stall. F you.

It's absolutely, but I would. I'd be something pissed off. And it's E.O. Sitting in Mardaloup, yelling at clouds. Okay. But that's hard. Like, now you're, you're kind of rubbing their face in it a little bit, right?

Well, it's not just that. Like, what's Mark Shrefly thinking? We signed that deal at the same time. What's Josh Morrissey? We're worried about McKinnan McCarby and jealous of it. What does this do to a room? He has a contract and I'm showing up.

And I want out of here. and I'm not coming to camp, but I'm going to take my ball and go play somewhere. Fine. That's your dressing room down the hall in that little janitor stall. I would guess that they probably, if he has a contract and is prepared to work, you can control his ice time and whether he plays,

but you probably have to let him come back. Oh, yeah. But he didn't, I know, you're probably right. It's just, so I don't know. But I agree with,

yeah, it's. Well, and again, if you're, if you're shoveled out of trying to trade this asset, The best thing you can do is have the asset looking really, really good. But I agree with you.

He's basically said me over the team right now, and that's tough in a room. It's just an ugly. It's a tough spot from here for both sides.