Biggest Trade Targets Left on Goalie Market After Connor Hellebuyck Extension

The Winnipeg Jets sent some shockwaves through the NHL on Monday when they announced seven-year contract extensions for veteran forward Mark Scheifele and starting goalie Connor Hellebuyck.

The new deals not only keep both players in Winnipeg for what could be the remainder of their careers, but they also take two significant trade chips off of the trade block for this season.

Hellebuyck's extension especially leaves the potential goalie market looking thin for teams that could be in need of an upgrade by the trade deadline.

Now that the Jets netminder is unlikely to be going anywhere anytime soon, let's take a look at some goalies who could be on the market at some point this season.

This could be a tricky one because Juuse Saros still has two full years remaining on his pretty team-friendly deal ($5 million per season) and the Nashville Predators don't seem completely willing to throw in the towel and start a full-scale rebuild.

If they have any intention of trying to compete for the playoffs this season, Saros would figure to be a major part of that. When he is on his game, there are few goalies in the league who are better or a bigger potential game-changer than the 28-year-old.

But things can change rapidly in the NHL, and if the Predators fall out of playoff contention in the first half of the season, it could put Saros firmly on the block.

Nashville has spent the past year dumping big salaries and veteran players, having already traded or bought out Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Johansen, Matt Duchene, Tanner Jeannot and Mikael Granlund.

If things go south for Nashville, you have to at least place a phone call to the Predators if you are a team like Los Angeles or New Jersey that might only be a goalie away from seriously competing for a Stanley Cup.

After putting it off for a couple of years—or at least putting off acknowledging it—the Philadelphia Flyers finally seem to be embracing the need for a rebuild.

That process was kick-started this offseason when general manager Danny Brière traded veterans Ivan Provorov and Kevin Hayes, and it seems likely that pretty much any player on the roster could be had for the right price.

The problem for the Flyers is not many of their players are going to command a significant price in trade talks, and Hart might be one of the few who could have reasonable value.

The 25-year-old's career with the Flyers has been pretty disappointing, continuing a long tradition of Flyers goalies failing to live up to the hype and solidify the position.

He has appeared in 201 games since making his NHL debut and has a .906 save percentage in that time. Among the 55 goalies who have appeared in at least 100 games since Hart made his debut, his .906 all situations save percentage is 39th in the NHL while his .914 even-strength save percentage is 31st out of that group.

The problem for the Flyers is that they have to make a big decision on Hart this offseason as he approaches restricted free agency.

And unless Hart comes out white-hot to start the 2023-24 campaign, it would be difficult to justify giving him anything more than a "prove it" contract. But maybe another team will see some untapped potential and offer him a chance for success in a better situation.

There are a lot of factors that make a potential John Gibson trade easier said than done, but it's something the Ducks would probably be wise to consider.

The biggest obstacle here is going to be the contract.

Not only does Gibson have no-trade protections on his deal, but he is also still owed $6.4 million per year over the next four seasons. That salary-cap number is currently the fourth highest among NHL goalies, trailing only Carey Price (who is not going to play again), Sergei Bobrovsky and Andrei Vasilevskiy.

There are not many teams that will be able to take on that sort of price, or be willing to take on that sort of price given Gibson's rapidly declining play.

At his peak, the 30-year-old was one of the best goalies in hockey and a major game-changer for the Ducks.

Over the past four years, though, he has gotten worn down playing big minutes behind one of the worst defensive teams in the league. Since the start of the 2019-20 season his .902 all situations save percentage is 33rd out of 42 goalies (minimum 100 games played) while his .909 even-strength save percentage is 36th out of that group.

A deal here would not only require a team that works with Gibson's no-trade protections (or meets his approval) but also some creative salary maneuvering that would almost certainly involve retained salary and probably another bad contract moving in the other direction.

There may not be a huge market for Gibson given all of the variables, but the Ducks should be trying to find one at least.

It seems like a matter of "when" and not "if" the Chicago Blackhawks trade Petr Mrázek this season.

Yes, the Czech netminder has a modified no-trade clause, but every variable here would seem to point to a trade happening before the deadline.

The main reason is that Mrazek is a pending unrestricted free agent and a 31-year-old goalie on a clearly rebuilding team that is not going to be ready to compete this season.

The Blackhawks also have a young goalie on the roster in Arvid Söderblom they are very high on, and he has a chance to take over the starting job at some point this season.

Mrazek is hardly a game-changer, but he is a solid veteran who could probably be had for a cheap price to help stabilize a playoff team's goalie situation. Especially if he gets an opportunity to play behind a stronger defensive team that can help insulate him a little more. He struggled during the 2022-23 season in Chicago, but that was also one of the worst teams in the NHL.

He has a .907 save percentage for his career in 334 regular-season appearances.

This is an interesting one because Kaapo Kähkönen probably isn't one of the bigger names in the NHL.

He had a very promising debut in the league with Minnesota and was eventually traded to San Jose in the middle of the 2021-22 season. That resulted in him getting an opportunity to play 37 games for the Sharks this past season, but things did not exactly go well for him or the team.

The Finn finished with an .883 save percentage in 37 games, a significant drop from what he had shown over the first two years with the Wild.

But he had a strong offseason for the Sharks, came in with a good mindset and has a legitimate chance to bounce back this season even while playing on a rebuilding team that might be one of the worst in the NHL.

If he does, he could be an interesting trade chip for the Sharks.

Kähkönen is a pending unrestricted free agent, carries a cheap salary and is still only 27 years old. He might not be the long-term answer for the Sharks, but he could be a suitable option for a goalie-needy team.