NHL Rumours: Crosby to Canadiens, Hellebuyck Uncertainty & Habs Defenseman Trade – The Hockey Writers – NHL Rumors

In today’s NHL rumour rundown, there have been conversations about Sidney Crosby‘s future, and the connection to the Montreal Canadiens has come back. Is there anything behind it? Next, we look at Connor Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg Jets, along with the uncertainty surrounding his future.

Finally, the Canadiens have too many defensemen, and a new trade candidate has been brought up as a solution.

Crosby to Canadiens Talk Unjustified

It wasn’t that long ago when Crosby trade talks were dominating the hockey rumours columns, but he shut that down by signing a two-year extension and reiterated his commitment to the organization.

Now, two years later, he is due for another extension, and we are back to the exact same conversation.

The link between Crosby and the Canadiens comes from them being his favourite team growing up, his junior days with the Rimouski Oceanic, and being the closest team to his home in Nova Scotia. On top of all that, the fit would be great. They need a second-line centre and are looking to contend.

Over the past few days, a clip from The Sid Seixeiro Show has been circulating with Seixeiro stating, “I’ll believe it when I see it”, when it came to a Crosby extension. He built off of the idea of Crosby going to the Canadiens and suggested Michael Hage and a first-round draft pick as a trade offer.

This all came just days after The Athletic’s Josh Yohe wrote about Crosby and his future, where he stated that he expects extension talks to pick up at the end of the summer, before the season starts. The idea of a new deal being a one- or two-year deal makes perfect sense. (from What I’m hearing about Sidney Crosby’s next contract with the Penguins, The Athletic, Aug. 17, 2026)

Crosby’s last deal was signed in the middle of September, which would make sense for this time around, too. As of now, all signs point to Crosby finishing his career with the Penguins.

Jets Teammates Uncertain About Hellebuyck’s Future

Now that we are deeper into the offseason and the chaos has all settled, many are surprised to see Hellebuyck staying as a member of the Jets, at least to this point.

There is still lots of time for a deal to be made if the Jets do go down that road, it’s just a matter of whether or not they get the offer they feel they deserve.

There is a lot of belief that owner Mark Chipman and Kevin Cheveldayoff are looking to make a deal happen, and while it is unclear exactly what Hellebuyck’s wishes are, contending seems to be his primary goal.

Adam Lowry spoke with Murat Ates of The Athletic, telling him, “…Until something happens, he’s a Jet, he’s a good friend, and we’re excited to get him back.” (from Adam Lowry on rebuilding his game, Connor Hellebuyck’s future and the Jets’ playoff hopes, The Athletic, Aug. 21, 2026)

There seems to be no love lost between the captain and the star goaltender. Ates added that Lowry doesn’t appear to have any special insight into the trade talks or the situation as a whole.

As the Buffalo Sabres continue to be the team many think will land Hellebuyck if he is dealt, with no information on whether he has a short list of teams or not, there are a number of teams who could swoop in and make a big offer.

Hellebuyck has a no-move clause for the 2026-27 season, which gets reduced down to a 21-team no-trade list next offseason.

While the Jets likely aren’t looking to move on from him on their own accord, Hellebuyck should be willing to allow a deal to a few teams now if he wants a trade. The Jets could hang onto him, and then give themselves 10 options next offseason if he still doesn’t want to stay.

Canadiens Could Move Engstrom, Not Xhekaj

The Canadiens have built a strong defensive group led by Lane Hutson, Mike Matheson, Noah Dobson, and Kaiden Guhle. Looking deeper into their lineup, they have a number of defensemen to fill in the final two jobs in the full-time lineup.

Arber Xhekaj made a player out of himself by being a physical presence, but currently does not have a contract and has been in trade talks throughout the offseason as a restricted free agent. Alexandre Carrier played some big minutes throughout the tail end of last season and into the playoffs, and is probably safe in their lineup.

After those two, Adam Engstrom, Jayden Struble, and even David Reinbacher remain in the conversation, too.

While they have some bigger decisions to make regarding their roster, the battle for bottom-pair minutes is a real focus for the club. They are going to need to analyze and consider which of these defensemen have the better path forward and can be the best options for their club.

Apron Basu recently shared a mailbag for The Athletic, and was asked about these depth defensemen. While noting that Engstrom has been dangled as a trade chip, the Canadiens see a lot of value with him and are trying to use him, or another defenseman, to upgrade their forward group.