Star forward's future in question after Connor Hellebuyck's trade request

The Winnipeg Jets have officially entered a new chapter.

Connor Hellebuyck confirmed this week that he privately requested a trade months ago, and now the hockey world is trying to figure out what comes next for a franchise that looked like a Cup contender just two seasons back.

With the goaltender who backstopped a Presidents Trophy team pushing for a change of scenery, fans are starting to wonder if he is the first big name out the door and not the last.

That exact question is what one popular hockey account put to its followers this week, floating the idea that Mark Scheifele could be the next veteran to go.

Scheifele signed the same seven year extension as Hellebuyck back in 2023, an identical deal worth $59.5 million with an $8.5 million cap hit running through the 2030-31 season.

He has been the offensive engine in Winnipeg for over a decade and is coming off a 100 point campaign, but stars on rebuilding rosters rarely stick around once a franchise decides to pivot.

If management views the Hellebuyck situation as the start of a longer teardown, a center with Scheifeles resume instantly becomes one of the most attractive trade chips in the league.

The account raised a scenario plenty of Oilers fans would love to see play out, suggesting Scheifele could end up in Edmonton before the trade deadline if Winnipeg commits fully to a reset.

Nothing here is close to official.

Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has only said the organization is working through the Hellebuyck situation, and there has been no indication Scheifele has asked out himself.

But once one cornerstone player publicly wants a fresh start, speculation about everyone else tends to follow fast.

For a fan base that watched a Presidents Trophy season collapse into a lottery pick conversation within twelve months, nothing feels off the table anymore.

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Connor Hellebuyck reveals his preferred trade destinations to the Jets