NY Rangers Are Major Part of Connor Hellebuyck Trade Saga

The New York Rangers' goaltender depth has been decimated this season by injuries.

Joonas Korpisalo, who was the No. 2 goaltender coming into the regular season, landed on IR just days into the campaign. That prompted the team to recall Dylan Garand from the Hartford Wolf Pack, who had luckily cleared waivers after training camp.

It wasn’t long before Garand was thrust into the No. 1 goalie role with Igor Shesterkin suffering a lower-body injury that is expected to sideline him through the remainder of the season. While Garand has looked good thus far, it comes as no surprise that the Rangers are canvassing the league for goalie depth.

One goalie that everyone is keeping their eyes on is Connor Hellebuyck. He requested a trade from the Winnipeg Jets during the offseason, and the team suspended him to start the regular season. Despite not having him in net, the Jets are playing well, holding their own with a 4-3-2 record and 10 points.

Rangers are key to Connor Hellebuyck being traded

Alas, Hellebuyck’s trade saga isn’t going to end with a trade to New York. However, the Rangers are in the middle of his potential move, according to insider Elliotte Friedman, during a recent episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast.

“Whatever Chris Drury is going to do here with the injury to Shesterkin, it could set a chain reaction around the league,” he said.

Friedman noted that the Rangers have scouted two goalies: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen of the Buffalo Sabres and Karel Vejmelka of the Utah Mammoth. Coincidentally, the Sabres and Mammoth are two of the teams that have been linked to Hellebuyck.

If either team were to complete a trade with New York so they could address their goaltending depth, they could quickly pivot to making a deal with Winnipeg centered around Hellebuyck to finally put an end to the rumors.

It would boil down to what is essentially a three-team trade, as Stephen Valiquette said during a recent appearance on Sportsnet with Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne.

"I'm hearing Vejmelka's name a lot being linked to the Rangers. Hellebuyck, by way of Vejmelka coming to New York, would be going to Utah,” said the former NHL goaltender, who is also an analyst for the Rangers on MSG, so he is plugged into the organization.

Adding goaltender depth to the roster is certainly a good idea. Right now, the backup to Garand is Spencer Martin, with James Reimer as the most experienced option behind them after agreeing to a PTO with Hartford.

Korpisalo is expected back in a few weeks, giving Garand a nice runway to earn the job. There will be salary available to use with Shesterkin on IR, but this is a tough situation to navigate because New York doesn’t need to add term at goalie.

Shesterkin, Korpisalo and Garand are all under contract for next season; bringing in a goalie who isn’t a pending free agent would certainly complicate things from a salary cap manner.