NHL draft swap watch continues

Go ahead and call it the calm before the storm.

As the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft is set to arrive on Friday night, the Winnipeg Jets have the potential to be the talk of the town, given the trade rumours surrounding goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.

But keep in mind, this is the time of year when misdirection is commonplace.

Hellebuyck may or may not be on the move this weekend, and it’s important to remember that the three-time Vezina Trophy winner is under contact for the next five seasons at a reasonable average annual value of US$8.5 million.

This situation remains very much in flux, but the moral of the story is that unless the Jets are blown away by an offer, they’re in no rush to move Hellebuyck.

To this point, there hasn’t been one that turns temptation into reality, though that could change with one phone call from a general manager that is ready to pull the trigger.

Some of the teams that are believed to have shown interest are the Florida Panthers, Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes.

The Panthers already traded for Brady Tkachuk to bolster the forward group, but with the future of pending unrestricted free agent Sergei Bobrovsky up in the air, it makes sense that general manager Bill Zito would look to solidify the goalie position with someone like Hellebuyck.

The sticking point thus far has been the Panthers reluctance to part with Finnish centre Anton Lundell, who is under contract for four more seasons at US$5 million and would immediately slide into the Jets second-line centre job.

Lundell, who was chosen 12th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, is someone who could take on additional responsibility as he played a key role on a line with Brad Marchand and Eetu Luostarinen when the Panthers won their second Stanley Cup in 2025.

There have been reports this week that the Panthers are trying to shift the discussions toward Luostarinen, who is a valuable checker that can chip in some secondary scoring but has only one year left on his contract.

Panthers defenceman Niko Mikkola would be another potential target of the Jets, but PuckPedia has updated its website to include that he has a modified no-trade clause, so he’s unlikely to be a prime target.

There is no deal for the Jets, then, without Lundell being part of it.

The most intriguing team right now is the Buffalo Sabres, who are also looking to upgrade between the pipes after using all of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Alex Lyon and Colten Ellis last season.

Luukkonen is someone the Jets took a long look at two years ago when it looked like it was going to be difficult to sign Hellebuyck to his extension and the Finnish netminder makes sense as part of the return that fits both the present and the future.

Speaking of Finnish centremen, Konsta Helenius is also a good target for the Jets after his excellent season with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League.

The 14th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft has nine NHL games on his resumé and appeared in four playoff games this spring, scoring twice.

The Sabres also added the fourth overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft in a deal with the Chicago Blackhawks for Bowen Byram to go along with the 20th overall pick they acquired from the San Jose Sharks in the deal for Michael Kesselring.

Adding the fourth overall pick would give the Jets the flexibility to select a defenceman like Carson Carels of Cypress River or Keaton Verhoeff of the University of North Dakota and a centre like Viggo Bjorck or Caleb Malhotra, provided they aren’t chosen by the San Jose Sharks at second overall or the Vancouver Canucks at three.

This is the sixth time in 15 years that the Jets are picking in the Top-10 — and the first since Cole Perfetti went 10th overall in 2020.

The Jets are likely to add an impact player at eighth overall, though the chances of that player sticking around to provide immediate help is less likely.

For a team looking to add to its core right now and also enhance the prospect pool, the Sabres seem like a perfect trade partner.

Buffalo could still make it worth the Jets while without including the fourth overall pick, but then they would need to add someone like forward Noah Ostlund and/or another piece to the package.

The Carolina Hurricanes are a team to keep an eye on, even after capturing the Stanley Cup this spring with the tandem of Frederik Andersen and Brandon Bussi.

Since they also have Russian goalie Pyotr Kochetkov in the system, the Hurricanes are the type of team that could send back a netminder in a deal that likely has to include defenceman Alexander Nikishin and some other form of futures.

Getting Winnipegger Seth Jarvis in a deal for Hellebuyck would be a blockbuster trade, but that doesn’t appear to be in the cards.

Hellebuyck would provide another element for a team like the Hurricanes that looks poised to be a serious contender in the Eastern Conference for years to come.

Finally, the San Jose Sharks are a team that has the potential to swoop in late and make an offer for Hellebuyck, especially since they have the second and ninth overall picks on Friday and have some other assets — including centre Michael Misa.

Of course, the Jets aren’t going to be forced to make a trade they’re not comfortable with, but moving an asset like Hellebuyck would immediately expand the field of candidates.

winnipegfreepress.com/kenwiebe