This summer has been a wild year for players going to change cities and changing sweaters. From Brady Tkachuk joining his brother in South Florida to Bowen Byram landing in the Windy City to Pavel Dorofeyev landing in the Big Apple and, finally, Vincent Trochek waiving his no-move clause to join the Mammoth here in Utah. There have been some fireworks, and there are still some irons in the fire.
Last week, Connor Hellebuyck publicly announced his trade request from the Winnipeg Jets. The Presidents' Trophy winners from two years ago have lost a lot of their luster and are falling far back in the Central after a lackluster year last year and not many additions this offseason.
Statement from Connor Hellebuyck: pic.twitter.com/hW8sNw1LJi
— Ray Petkau (@RayPetkau) August 27, 2026
While Hellebuyck is a three-time Vezina Trophy winner, his postseason play has been subpar, to say the least. In the 2024-2025 season, he posted a 2.01 GAA and a .925 save percentage. When the playoffs came around, those numbers were worse, with a 3.08 GAA and a .866 save percentage. His numbers look similar to that in the prior season to that as well. He has had the reputation of a great regular season goalie and not a postseason goalie. Being 33 and has five years left on his contract with an 8.5 million cap hit. His options are limited.
Another member of Team USA to win gold this year is Dylan Larkin. He expressed his desire to leave the Detroit Red Wings for greener pastures. The Red Wings haven't made it to the playoffs in nine years. There have been times when they looked like they would make it, only to fall apart after the trade deadline. Former GM Steve Yzerman and the Yzerplan never materialized. With turmoil in Detroit, Larkin's request is still out there. While Detroit is looking to get back a good haul for Larkin, his numbers don't show his juice is worth the squeeze.
Larkin hasn't had an 80-point season for a "1C" player. He hasn't had many plus seasons in plus/minus. Since his rookie season, he has had two seasons of plus play. 2023-2024 with +5 and last season with +3. To put that in perspective, Clayton Keller had a +21 last season, leading the Mammoth to the Playoffs. Larkin's no-move clause list is small. He requested his trade shortly after the season, and there haven't been any talks of anything happening soon. Larkin still has five years and an $ 8.7 million AAV.
Looking at the Utah Mammoth's roster. There should be no entertaining either player. Does adding Hellebuyck make the net better? Yes, but at what cost? First, the trade package alone would be bigger. Karel Vejmelka would be gone. You'd need another player like McBain to match contracts, and a prospect/draft capital. This is steep for a guy who can't prove it in the Stanley Cup playoffs. He would boost the team's overall points total in the coming seasons; however, getting Hellebuyck to the playoffs wouldn't help them make a deep run.
Another factor in net for the Mammoth is the recent trade for Sebastian Cossa and the ELC signing of Michael Hrabal. These two should be the future in net when Utah is looking to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup. Adding Hellebuyck would push these two back from making that jump. Hrabal should be on target to make the jump to the NHL around the time Vejmelka's contract expires.
The Mammoth have some depth at Center this year with four centers and a fifth playing wing that could slide over in Trocheck. Dylan Larkin looks to muddy up that position if Utah acquired him. He wouldn't be an upgrade over Keller or Logan Cooley, and paying that much for a 3C is expensive. The trade package for Larkin would be steep from Detroit's point of view. They would want players to join now who would help now. They have already been in a rebuild for nine years and want to get back to the playoffs quickly.
What GM Bill Armstrong has done this summer has added some grit and depth to the roster. He has a team that should start to push for one of the top three spots in the Central. He has played his hand well. When a player hasn't worked out, he hasn't hesitated to trade him. When a player is available to be traded for, he will make the necessary trade to bolster the roster to make deeper runs each year. Yes, Hellebuyck and Larkin played great to help win USA their first gold medal in 46 years. Let's let them be someone else's problems and trust in what this team has for this year.
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