NHL Mailbag: Why Free Agents Remain Unsigned and Hellebuyck Trade Options Are Narrowing
The remaining NHL free-agent market looks less like a queue of players waiting for a team to call and more like a squeeze on roster space. Some veterans have offers but are holding out for better terms; others are competing with prospects for jobs that teams may prefer to fill internally. That same scarcity shapes the trade market for Connor Hellebuyck: Winnipeg’s options have narrowed since the draft, and a move to Los Angeles appears difficult to assemble.
Unsigned veterans face different kinds of uncertainty
For Vladimir Tarasenko, being unsigned doesn’t necessarily mean teams have lost interest. Eeli Tolvanen’s recent signing with the Rangers offers a useful comparison: several teams were interested, but the offers were reportedly short-term. He had to decide whether to wait for a stronger bid or take the best available contract. Tarasenko may be weighing a similar choice, with salary or term falling short of his expectations. Logan Stanley appears to be in that group as well.
Other veterans face a more basic obstacle: teams may have a prospect ready to compete for the same roster spot. Curtis Lazar, for example, has spent years as a serviceable fourth-line center, but at this stage he may be viewed more as a reserve forward. A team considering him has to weigh a veteran’s known profile against giving a younger player a chance. That calculation can leave capable players without even a minimum-salary offer.
Patrik Laine’s situation has an added complication. His shot remains a clear asset, but injuries have limited his availability, and he has been out for much of the past year. A one-year contract would make him eligible for performance incentives, which could offer a route to a deal. The sticking point may be the structure: how much the incentives would pay and how attainable the targets would be. Interest appears weaker than Laine might have expected, though a contract still seems possible.
A PTO can reflect roster math, not just an agent’s strategy
A professional tryout offer can be an unattractive outcome for a player, but it isn’t always evidence that an agent misread the market. Some players would accept a minimum contract and still aren’t receiving one. In those cases, teams may simply prefer to use the opening on someone else. An agent’s negotiating position can contribute when a player’s asking price stays high as teams move on, but that’s only one explanation.
Teams also have to decide whether they want to add another bubble player when they already have prospects to evaluate. Some clubs will risk placing a young player on waivers; others will try to keep that player in the organization. A team might hope a rival waives a useful young player and then claim him, but that plan depends on the player actually becoming available. Without a clear expectation that a roster spot will open, relying on waivers carries too much uncertainty to serve as a dependable plan.
The more immediate effect is that prospects already on a roster can make teams reluctant to offer a veteran a PTO or a low-cost contract. The veteran’s talent may be real, but the club may want to see what its own younger players can do first. Matt Grzelcyk may have been an example last summer of a player whose contract expectations contributed to a late PTO, though such cases aren’t especially common.
Winnipeg’s leverage over Hellebuyck has strengthened
At the draft, possible trade frameworks for Hellebuyck appeared more viable. Florida was discussed as a potential fit, with the ninth overall pick linked to a possible return. Buffalo was also in the mix, with the fourth pick reportedly part of a proposed package. Those assets are no longer available, and the teams have since made other moves.
Florida has added goaltending and, after spending cap space and draft capital, looks less equipped to make a deal. Buffalo’s proposed package may also have changed: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, reportedly a possible part of it, received five-team trade protection on July 1. Winnipeg could be among the teams on his list, which would make his inclusion harder or impossible.
Those are only two potential destinations, but they illustrate how quickly a trade market can shrink. Teams have committed picks, prospects, cap space and roster spots elsewhere. If Winnipeg didn’t like the offers available before the draft and free agency, the remaining options may now be less appealing.
General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has shown patience in past trade-request situations involving Evander Kane, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Jacob Trouba. His record suggests he won’t rush into accepting a weak return simply because a player has made his wishes public. That approach could keep Hellebuyck in Winnipeg to start the season.
A holdout would probably do little to improve Hellebuyck’s position. Missing time could reduce his value to interested teams and make Cheveldayoff even less willing to move him without a strong return. The more likely outcome is that Hellebuyck reports, even if the relationship is uncomfortable. He may hear from the home crowd, but playing well and keeping Winnipeg competitive could help demonstrate his value to teams that revisit the market later in the season.
Los Angeles looks like an awkward trade fit
The Kings have been suggested as a destination, in part because Hellebuyck’s contract is considered team-friendly for an elite goaltender and Los Angeles has $21 million coming off its books after the season. Darcy Kuemper, whose salary is $5.5 million in the final year of his contract, could also be part of a deal. The Kings have a mix of established players and young talent, including Kevin Fiala, Adrian Kempe, Artemi Panarin, Quinton Byfield, Alex Laferriere and Brandt Clarke.
The central question is why Hellebuyck wants out. If his priority is playing in the United States, Los Angeles could make sense geographically. If he wants to join a stronger contender, the Kings look more like a lateral move from Winnipeg: both project as teams that could land in the Wild Card conversation. A top goaltender can change a team’s ceiling, but that alone doesn’t make Los Angeles an obvious destination.
The roster math is also awkward. Los Angeles has several young goalies it believes could reach the NHL, including Erik Portillo, Carter George, Hampton Slukynsky and Petteri Rimpanen. That prospect depth reduces the need to spend heavily on another netminder. A package centered on Kuemper and a young goalie might interest Winnipeg, but it likely would need a core player and a first-round pick as well to approach the Jets’ expectations. Giving up that much could weaken a Kings skater group that already has limitations.
Los Angeles could decide that a major goaltending upgrade justifies that cost, but the fit is hard to make work. Hellebuyck joining the Kings remains possible, though it would be a surprise.
Other roster and coaching questions
Philipp Kurashev’s fit with the Rangers also looks limited. He showed he can produce in a top-six role alongside Connor Bedard in Chicago during the 2023-24 season, but New York has several wingers it wants to develop or feature in those positions. Pavel Dorofeyev is a key scoring option, while the Rangers also have Alexis Lafreniere, William Cuylle and Gabe Perreault in the mix. Oliver Bjorkstrand could help cover a gap. With Tolvanen now signed, the case for adding Kurashev is weaker still, particularly if the Rangers would use him in a third-line role.
Vegas’s decision to retain Bruce Cassidy after his departure as coach appears to be about limiting where he can work. There’s no obvious midseason transaction that would turn his departure into a useful return for the Golden Knights. Keeping him from joining a division or conference rival may be the club’s main concern, given his knowledge of the team’s systems and personnel. That restriction also signals that Vegas still regards him as a capable coach, even if it felt his tenure with the group had run its course.
The NHL’s on-ice product has also changed noticeably since the dead-puck era. The improvement isn’t simply about scoring; the game now features more pace and skill, which makes even ordinary midseason matchups more entertaining. Among the major leagues, the NFL still has an edge as a weekly spectacle because of its short schedule and week-long buildup. The NHL would rank ahead of the NBA for a random regular-season game, where three-point-heavy play can become repetitive, while a typical MLB game depends more on a compelling pitching matchup.
The thread connecting these questions is the value of opportunity. Veterans need an open roster spot, teams need a reason to spend scarce cap space, and trade targets need a willing buyer with the right assets. As training camp approaches, those constraints will determine which names move and which players have to wait.
