Friedman Drops an Interesting Hint on Hellebuyck’s Future

Elliotte Friedman recently joined the FAN Hockey Show to talk through where the Connor Hellebuyck situation might land, and one team has suddenly emerged as a genuinely interesting fit: the San Jose Sharks. When asked directly whether San Jose’s checked in on Hellebuyck, Friedman didn’t dodge it. His exact words were that “tires have been kicked” between the two sides, though he admitted he doesn’t know who actually started the conversation.

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Hellebuyck to the Sharks Makes Some Sense

And honestly, Friedman thinks Hellebuyck’s fit with the Sharks makes a lot of sense. When he runs through the whole league thinking about who’s a realistic destination, San Jose lands near the top of his list. They’ve got young goaltending, plenty of NHL-ready young talent, and a team clearly trying to take that next step forward.

Here’s the interesting wrinkle, though. Friedman brought up something that’s apparently been part of the conversation on Hellebuyck’s side. That’s his own read on his championship window. Friedman has suggested that Hellebuyck is focused on finding a team he believes can contend over the next two to three years. That’s the stretch where he’s going to be at his absolute best. That’s apparently part of why Buffalo made him a preferred destination in the first place. He’s thinking hard about which teams can actually be competitive during that specific window.

Can the Sharks Win the Stanley Cup If They Had Hellebuyck in the Crease?

So the real question for San Jose isn’t really about fit or talent; it’s timing. Can the Sharks actually be a legitimate contender within that same two-to-three-year stretch Hellebuyck’s looking at? Friedman’s own take is that San Jose’s closer to competitive than people might assume. If he were in Hellebuyck’s shoes, he’d take his chances there. But he was also clear that this exact question, whether San Jose’s timeline lines up with Hellebuyck’s, was something the two sides were actively working through.

So where does that leave things? Nothing’s close to official, but “tires have been kicked” from a guy like Friedman is never a throwaway line. It certainly suggests the two sides have had discussions, even if nobody’s confirming exactly how far along they are. San Jose’s got the assets. The timeline question is the real thing to watch.

If Friedman’s right that they’re closer to contending than people think, this pairing might make a lot more sense than it looks on paper right now.

Related: Analyst Floats Surprise Pacific Division Team as Connor Hellebuyck Landing Spot