The Golden Knights were among the teams to inquire about acquiring goaltender Connor Hellebuyck from Winnipeg, notes Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. However, those discussions went nowhere fast.
For starters, Winnipeg’s preference was to deal him to the East and second, they wanted a goalie back. However, Webster relays that veteran Adin Hill has the Jets on his no-trade list, making the more obvious goalie in any hypothetical swap unavailable.
Carter Hart is their other netminder but as the starter for Vegas, he probably isn’t someone they’d want to move, while his expiring contract would have lessened his value to Winnipeg. Those two elements largely scuttled any potential discussions rather quickly.
More from out West: The Jets will have veteran winger Nino Niederreiter to their lineup tonight in the Heritage Classic against Montreal. The team revealed (Twitter link) its projected lines for the game with the 34-year-old slotting in on the fourth line.
Niederreiter exiting last game on Thursday against Dallas after being clipped by a high-stick from teammate Tyrel Bauer but it appears he was able to recover quickly enough to suit up tonight. He has yet to record a point in his first seven appearances of the season.
The Ducks are giving a pair of their prospects a better chance to play with an ECHL assignment. Per the AHL’s transactions log, Anaheim has sent wingers Cruz Lucius and Coulson Pitre to ECHL Tulsa.
Lucius is in his first professional season after his signing rights were acquired from Pittsburgh in August following a 46-point NCAA season. He has one goal in four games with the Gulls so far this year.
Pitre, meanwhile, split last season between the two levels, notching 21 points in 26 contests with Tulsa. He has yet to play at either level in 2026-27.