NHL Rumors: Montreal Canadiens, San Jose Sharks, and the Winnipeg Jets

Highly unlikely the Montreal Canadiens trade the No. 5 pick

Eric Engels: Montreal Canadiens GM Kent Hughes on the possibility of trading the fifth overall pick in the 2023 NHL draft: “I’d say it’s highly unlikely, but I can’t say it’s impossible.”

The San Jose Sharks haven’t spoken to any of their free agents yet

Curtis Pashelka: Grier said that he hasn’t spoken with any of their pending UFAs and RFAs as there’s lots of time for that.

Curtis Pashelka: San Jose Sharks GM Mike Grier said he’ll talk with Evgeni Nabokov and Thomas Speer in the next couple of weeks about the possibility of signing Ben Gaudreau: “We’ll sort that out and figure out if we’re going to sign Ben or not.”

NHL Rumors: Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, and the New York Rangers

Potential trade destinations for Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck

Ryan Dixon of Sportsnet: Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck is entering the final year of his contract, along with several other Jets players. Will the Jets look to extend some players or will they decide to go a different direction?

A look at some potential trade destinations for the Jets and Hellebuyck

Los Angeles Kings – Deadline acquisition Joonas Korpisalo is a UFA and would be cheaper but not in the same category as Hellebuyck. Pheonix Copley and Cal Petersen are under contract for the Kings. Any Hellebuyck deal may need Petersen’s contract involved (two years left at $5 million per).

Ottawa Senators – Cam Talbot isn’t coming back and could take a big swing with Hellebuyck.

Buffalo Sabres – Would the Sabres be willing to include Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for Hellebuyck? Reunite Hellebuyck and Eric Comrie and let Devon Levi develop in the AHL for a year.

Detroit Red Wings – Hellebuyck is from Michigan. The Wings are trending upwards but not as far as the Sens and Sabers. Ville Husso has two years left so they could move him or go with an expensive tandem next season.

NHL Rumors: New York Rangers – Artemi Panarin, Barclay Goodrow, Alexis Lafreniere, and Kaapo Kakko

The Carolina Hurricanes only have Pyotr Kochetkov under contract for next season. The New Jersey Devils Akira Schmid took over for Vitek Vanecek in Game 3. The Toronto Maple Leafs always have salary cap concerns but they may have a need for a goaltender.