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Jets training camp preview: Hellebuyck waiting game continues

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The Winnipeg Jets will enter training camp with the eyes of the league trained on Manitoba. Unfortunately, that’s not because the club is expected to be a force in the NHL this season, but due to the fact that franchise goalie Connor Hellebuyck has made public his desire to play for another team.

At a time when hope bubbles in so many hockey burghs around Canada and the U.S., there’s an undeniable black cloud hanging over the Prairies.

All is not lost, however, as Winnipeg looks to bounce back from a disappointing non-playoff showing, one year after finishing atop the standings in 2025-26. Every conversation around the team starts and ends with Hellebuyck, but there’s still plenty to talk about in between. 

Salary cap space: $4,481,668
GM: Kevin Cheveldayoff
Head coach: Scott Arniel
Assistant coaches: Marty Johnston, Davis Payne, Dean Chynoweth, Wade Flaherty
Key additions: Mario Ferraro, D; Stuart Skinner, G
Key subtractions: Eric Comrie, G; Jonathan Toews, C; Gustav Nyqvist, W

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What we’ll learn during pre-season:

The summer started with a feeling the Jets could move an unhappy Hellebuyck, then ended with the goalie putting pressure on the organization by publicly confirming he wanted out. Until the situation is resolved, all we know is everyone — including Hellebuyck, likely — will put on a brave face and try to move forward.

While there’s surely a bit of a swimming-duck element to this — calm above the water, furiously paddling underneath — we know GM Kevin Cheveldayoff will not be bullied into anything. Being forced to trade a player is nothing new for Winnipeg’s GM and — from Jacob Trouba to Patrik Laine to Pierre-Luc Dubois — he’s done pretty darn well when cornered before. 

Assuming this ordeal ends in a trade, certainly you’d prefer to make that happen sooner rather than later. We’ve seen some serious in-season blockbusters the past couple years, though, and it’s still better for Cheveldayoff to wait and see who might emerge as a hungry trading partner in coming months rather than settle for a swap he doesn’t like right now.

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Until he’s moved, however, all of Manitoba — and a handful of cities around the league who hope to land him — are on Hellebuyck Watch.

The Hellebuyck situation has distracted from the fact that Winnipeg’s annual training camp discussion point — who’s the second-line C? — is once again a pressing one.

The difference this time out, though, is the promise represented by Viggo Björck. The talented Swede was the silver lining of the Jets’ lost season, as Winnipeg — somewhat surprisingly — was able to grab him with the eighth-overall pick. 

Now the question is, how much can you fairly expect from an 18-year-old kid, no matter how talented?

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Björck, as one might anticipate, looked fantastic over the weekend in Gatineau, Que., at the NHL Prospect Challenge. Now he must come to main camp and give management and coaching staff reason to believe he’s ready for a prime role on the club. It’s a very high bar to clear and you wonder if, for the good of the player’s long-term development, the Jets will really have to be blown away by Björck to justify keeping him on the club.

If Björck winds up going back to Sweden, one assumes captain Adam Lowry or Vladimir Namestnikov will be the 2C behind top-line guy Mark Scheifele. While that’s not a perfect solution, it’s a reminder that part of what derailed Winnipeg’s season last year was beginning the year without Lowry, winger Cole Perfetti — who inked a big extension in July — and top-four defenceman Dylan Samberg thanks to injuries. 

All three will be ready to go from the drop of the puck this year and that will make a huge difference for the Jets. 

3. What about the happy goalie?

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The Jets inked Stuart Skinner as a UFA in July, surely with the idea he could play a huge role for the team given the uncertainty around Hellebuyck. It’s hard to imagine the Jets making a Hellebuyck deal that doesn’t return a goalie, but how Skinner looks and feels in Year 1 with the club could factor into the calculus. While certainly not a no-doubt No. 1 guy, Skinner has loads of experience from his time playing on a Cup contender in Edmonton. At 27 years old, he’s still in a range where you could expect a goalie — especially one with his chops and seasoning — to take a step.

Essentially, the Jets will be watching Skinner to determine if he’s a viable 1A guy you could rely on in a tandem with a similarly skilled puckstopper, or whether he’s more of a true backup who needs to play behind a lead horse. 

Salomonsson, one of the team’s prized prospects, underwent off-season shoulder surgery that seemed like it would delay the beginning of his year. As it stands, there’s a sense Salomonsson could be ready to play sooner than expected.

After two promising pro seasons in North America — including 32 games with the Jets last year — the 22-year-old Swede appears destined for a role on the right side of the third pair beside newcomer Mario Ferraro. It would be a huge boon for the young man and the club itself if Salomonsson can see even a little action in camp and be ready to go for the opening game of the season on Oct. 2 versus the Boston Bruins

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On the eve of the season, the Jets will bite down and make an inter-division trade with the Utah Mammoth that sends Hellebuyck south and returns goalie Karel Vejmelka and heralded centre prospect Caleb Desnoyers. The tandem of Vejmelka and Skinner works well enough to allow Winnipeg — with its usual top-line production and structured defensive play — to grab the final playoff spot in the underwhelming Western Conference. 

Kyle Connor — Mark Scheifele — Gabe Vilardi
Cole Perfetti — Vladimir Namestnikov — Alex Iaffalo
Nino Niederreiter — Adam Lowry — Brad Lambert
Cole Koepke — Morgan Barron — Isak Rosen

Josh Morrissey — Dylan DeMelo
Dylan Samberg — Neal Pionk
Mario Ferraro — Elias Salomonsson
Hadyn Fleury

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FSU president evaluates Mike Norvell after firing AD

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Florida State University President Richard McClullough spoke with the media on Monday, explaining the school’s decision to move on from athletic director Michael Alford, explaining why they made the move when they did, and more.

With Alford gone, all eyes are now on head football coach Mike Norvell, who has arguably the hottest seat in the country after back-to-back losing seasons and a 1-1 start to 2026. McClullough addressed his status with the program, briefly evaluating the job he has done.

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“Look, I love Mike Norvell,” McCullough said. “He’s a great human being.I love what he does with our student-athletes. Our grades have never been better under his leadership. I love how he takes our student-athletes and helps them to be the best version of themselves.

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“I love how he makes them competitive, and we love all that. And I have to tell you, nobody wants to win more than Mike Norvell. Except for maybe the players, me, Chairman Collins. I mean, we want to win. Of course we want to win. And, you know, college coaches are in the winning business, so that’s what we’re working on. I mean, we’re not really here to talk about Coach Norvell. This is really about AD Alford.”

Norvell is in his seventh season as FSU’s head coach and has a 39-35 record overall and a 22-27 record in conference play. They went 13-1 in 2023 and won the ACC, but have done nothing but struggle since then, going 8-18.

While pressure is mounting for the Seminoles to make a change, it will be a costly move to fire Norvell. According to Craig Myers of USA TODAY Sports, his buyout is $46.7 million if he is fired before Dec. 1, 2026. That would be the third-biggest ever.

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Follow us @FSUWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida State news, notes, and opinions.

This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: FSU president evaluates Mike Norvell after firing AD

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Irish Premiership: Declan Devine to leave Glentoran after two and a half years

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Glentoran owner Ali Pour warned on Saturday that the pressure was on Devine to deliver this season.

Pour explained that Devine had at his disposal a squad that he had “hand-picked” after being provided with “the biggest budget of any manager”.

But, as has been the case for much of Pour’s time at the club, big spending off the pitch has not returned success on it.

Pour was in attendance for Saturday’s drab draw with Bangor when supporters certainly made their feelings clear.

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Despite an inconsistent campaign last season, the Glens were in control of their own destiny in the title race with two games to go.

Knowing two wins would secure a first title since 2009, they drew 0-0 at home to eventual champions Larne before they were then thumped 6-2 by Coleraine on the final day, with the Bannsiders pipping them to second spot.

Disappointment from the previous season has perhaps seeped into the current campaign as they were knocked out of Europe at the first hurdle by RFS and then lost to rivals Linfield and suffered back-to-back defeats against Crusaders and Larne.

The loss of midfielder Cammy Palmer in the summer has been keenly felt, while injuries have hampered Devine in the early part of the new season too.

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They have struggled for a focal point in the absence of last season’s top scorer Pat Hoban, while new signing Conor McMenamin will need time to ensure his second stint at the Oval lives up to the expectation established by his brilliant first spell.

The Glens still have a talented squad for whomever comes in next, but they will have to change the mentality of the players, who Devine’s assistant Tim McCann said on Saturday needed to start taking “accountability” for their “unacceptable displays”.

With ground to make up already in the title race, Glentoran supporters will hope that the new boss can quickly spark a new manager bounce to inject some life into what has been a listless campaign.

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We are Legion (We are Bob) celebrates 10 years! (Exclusive interview)

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10 years ago, Canadian author Dennis E. Taylor released his second book We are Legion (We are Bob) in audiobook format. Unable to find someone to publish his work in print, he received an offer from Audible. Soon, We are Legion (We are Bob) became a huge Audible success story.

We spoke to Taylor and voice actor Ray Porter on the tenth anniversary of the release. Six books in, Taylor is a happy man. He told Sportskeeda:

“Well, I don’t know what I expected when I wrote the first book. This is not it. Nothing even close to this. But everything keeps exceeding expectations. It’s hard to be upset.”

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Taylor wrote the first book in the Bobiverse in the traditional format, not even knowing that audiobooks were a thing. We are Legion (We are Bob) was thankfully a natural fit for Audible:

“I didn’t even really know audiobooks existed. I mean if somebody had asked me flat out, I would have said sure, there must be an audio version of some books on vinyl or CD or something like that. But I didn’t know the company name Audible or anything like that. I just wrote it.”

And lo and behold! The story translated wonderfully into the Audible format, thanks to the format the story was written in and the talents of voice actor Ray Porter. Taylor continued:

“There are some style decisions that you should make when you write for audio. I was just fortunate that I tended to write that way anyway.”

Dennis E. Taylor still remembers the day when he heard We are Legion (We are Bob) in audiobook format:

“It was absolutely mindblowing. And you’ve got to remember, because I was published audio first, I didn’t have a text version to look at. The audiobook was my book. That was it.”

Ray Porter’s voice made We are Legion (We are Bob) special

In this science fiction saga, Bob wakes up in the future and realizes he has no body. He embarks on an interstellar adventure and makes several replicants of himself. Porter recalled his first impression:

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“The prospect of it was daunting. The way that it was presented to me was that we have a sci-fi book with hard science and I was like great, good, love that. I am a big science space fan. I love all that stuff. And you’re going to play a guy who replicates himself endlessly. So you’ll have 50 to 60 characters and it’s all the same guy.”

Even though several Bobs are replicated from the first one, each one has a distinct personality. The writing is what informed Ray Porter’s decisions in creating the Bobiverse:

“All of the different characters, even though they are replicants essentially, all have their own identities in different ways.”


We are Legion (We are Bob) paved the way for several other books in the Bobiverse series. The Infinite Extent, the sixth installment of the Bobiverse is currently out on Audible, expanding the universe significantly.