Connor Hellebuyck wanted the Florida Panthers first, but Winnipeg's price was Anton Lundell, and Florida wouldn't budge.
Friday night, Lundell made the Jets pay anyway. He scored three goals in a 5-2 Panthers win and fired eight shots on goal in 16:48 of ice time.
According to the report Gino Hard passed along, Hellebuyck's initial preferred destination after requesting a trade from Winnipeg was Florida. The Jets reportedly wanted Lundell in return. The Panthers said no.
So Hellebuyck widened his list to any team where he felt he could win. He now plays for the Devils, and he stopped 19 of 21 shots Friday night in a 5-2 win at Las Vegas.
Lundell's season has been quiet, and the hat trick changed that. Three of his four goals this year came in that one game, and he sits at 6 points in 14 games.
The career numbers explain why Florida held firm. Lundell has 82 goals and 125 assists in 373 regular-season games, with a +60 rating, and he carries a $5,000,000 cap hit through 2029-2030.
Keeping a 25-year-old two-way center on that number was the right call for the Panthers. Rebuilding that kind of depth down the middle is far harder than finding a goalie solution elsewhere.
Jets still searching after Lundell ask went nowhere
Winnipeg is 4-7-3 and has lost eight straight, sitting 27th in the NHL with a -13 goal differential. Friday's loss at Florida was the latest in that skid.
Hellebuyck, meanwhile, landed in a far better spot. His $8,500,000 cap hit runs through 2030-31, and the Devils are 9-5-0, second in the Metropolitan Division.
Florida isn't hurting either. Paul Maurice's Panthers are 8-4-2, third in the Atlantic, and Akira Schmid made 22 saves on 24 shots in the win over Winnipeg.
Hard noted that Hellebuyck's list grew to any team he felt he could win with once Florida held firm on Lundell.
The Panthers have won three straight and host Detroit on Monday, November 2. Winnipeg visits Carolina on Sunday, while Hellebuyck and the Devils host Edmonton on Tuesday, November 3.
Did the Panthers make the right call by refusing to give up Anton Lundell for Connor Hellebuyck?
Voting closed
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