WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said Thursday that the team has been trying to deal star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck since he asked for a trade and is still searching for “a resolution that works for both sides.”
Cheveldayoff spoke one day after the Jets suspended the 33-year-old goalie for failing to report to training camp. The first preseason game is Saturday and the Jets open the regular season at home against Boston on Oct. 2.
“We are a team that has been trying to be competitive,” Cheveldayoff said. “We’ve been trying to push things forward and try to win on a regular basis. When Connor came and asked and requested to being traded, we kept it quiet. That was partly on his request as well, and we tried to make that work and we’ve been trying to make that work ever since.”
The absence of the three-time Vezina Trophy winner casts a major shadow over a team that finished 35-35-12 last year one season after winning the Presidents’ Trophy with the NHL's top regular-season record.
Hellebuyck signed a seven-year, $69.5 million contract extension in October 2023. At the time, he told reporters that he wanted to be a “Jet for life” and believed in the team’s potential to chase and win a Stanley Cup. Hellebuyck, a Michigan native, has played his entire NHL career with the Jets and was voted league MVP in the 2024-25 season. He backstopped the U.S. to the gold medal at the Olympics in February.
Last month, he publicly confirmed he wanted to be traded, saying the Jets have had enough time to resolve the situation. Cheveldayoff noted the trade request first came in April after Winnipeg missed the playoffs. He said the Jets received no warning that Hellebuyck’s agent would go public with the details.
“There’s probably lots of whys, and unfortunately, this situation is what it is,” Cheveldayoff said. “We’ve been dealing with it for a period of time now, and just looking to find a resolution that works for both sides. But certainly for the players and the fans of the Winnipeg Jets.”
Cheveldayoff wouldn’t confirm which teams he has spoken with. He added that he wouldn’t be pressured into a move. Hellebuyck has a no-movement clause in his contract allowing him to veto any trade proposal he doesn't like.
Hellebuyck previously took exception to backlash following his performance for the U.S. at the Olympics and for his visit to Donald Trump’s White House to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He said he and his family were subjected to severe harassment online.
Cheveldayoff said the team did its best to support the Hellebuyck family — providing additional security and police presence — but couldn’t provide specifics. Now, he is focused on trying to help him find a new hockey home. For now, Stuart Skinner looks to be the starting goalie.
“I have to keep a level head. I can’t let emotion come into play in any regard,” Cheveldayoff said. “Connor Hellebuyck’s part of our family until he’s not part of our family.”
See AP’s full NHL coverage here
Winnipeg Jets' Mark Scheifele (55) takes a shot on goaltender Stuart Skinner (74) during the NHL hockey team's training camp in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
Winnipeg Jets' goaltender Stuart Skinner (74) watches the action during the NHL hockey team's training camp in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff talks to media regarding the suspension of Connor Hellebuyck during the NHL hockey team's training camp in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market rallied to its best day in six weeks Thursday after falling oil prices and easing pressure from the bond market helped Wall Street reverse many of its moves from the prior day.
The S&P 500 jumped 1.1% for just its second rise in the last nine days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 316 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.7%.
Stocks got a boost after the price for a barrel of Brent crude oil slid 1% to settle at $104.82. That’s down from the nearly $110 it reached earlier in the week on worries that the war with Iran will keep oil bottled up in the Middle East instead of going to customers worldwide.
Brent is of course still much more expensive than the $72 per barrel that it cost earlier this summer, but Thursday’s drop helped pull yields lower in the bond market and removed some pressure on stocks. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.93% from 5.01% late Wednesday.
Higher yields make it more expensive for everyone to borrow money, from the U.S. government to people looking to buy houses to businesses wanting to build data centers. That in turn slows the economy.
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised the short-term interest rate that it controls, the federal funds rate, by a quarter of a percentage point for its first hike in more than three years. Officials also signaled they may raise the federal funds rate one more time this year as they try to get the nation’s high inflation under control.
The signals sent Wall Street on a roller coaster. Stocks initially remained higher for the day after the Fed made its announcement Wednesday. They then slid sharply before recovering a chunk of the losses before trading ended.
On the upside for markets, the shift to higher interest rates built confidence that the Fed is committed to getting inflation back to its target of 2%. Questions had begun to bubble earlier about whether it would feel pressure from President Donald Trump, who is calling for lower interest rates. And the short-term cost of pain for the economy could be worth it if it gets inflation under control following years of its staying too high.
On the downside for markets, higher rates undercut prices for stocks and other investments. When investors earn more in interest from bonds, which are considered safer investments, they’re less willing to pay high prices for other investments. That’s beyond the slowing effect that higher rates have on the economy in hopes of removing fuel for inflation.
Some reports on Thursday signaled the U.S. economy may be strong enough to withstand higher interest rates. One said fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week. Another said that manufacturing growth in the mid-Atlantic region was stronger than economists expected.
Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh said Wednesday that a strengthening economy is one of the reasons Fed officials moved to raise interest rates after keeping them on hold earlier this year.
He also cited “geopolitics,” along with the threat that the increases in prices it’s causing could filter out and push up inflation elsewhere. That’s likely a nod to the war with Iran and its effect on oil prices.
On Wall Street, stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry continued to rebound following their worldwide slide on Monday. Nvidia climbed 2.5%, and Advanced Micro Devices rose 6.4%.
That was even though OpenAI disclosed six more reports of “unexpected or concerning” behavior in AI models. Leaders of the AI industry over the weekend called for a slowdown in development to address safety issues for humanity
Stocks of several homebuilders also rose, even though a report showed the industry broke ground on fewer new homes last month than economists expected. The housing industry has been one of the hardest hit by the climb for the 10-year Treasury’s yield, which topped 5% this week for the first time since 2023 and has pulled mortgage rates higher.
Thursday’s ease in yields helped D.R. Horton rise 1.5%, while PulteGroup added 1.1%. Rival Lennar erased an early loss and climbed 1.7% after reporting weaker profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 85.95 points to 7,637.76. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 316.14 to 51,778.04, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 439.87 to 26,418.30.
In stock markets abroad, indexes rose across much of Europe following a weaker finish in Asia.
London’s FTSE 100 climbed 1.2% after the Bank of England decided to keep its interest rates on hold.
AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Michelle Chapman contributed to this report.
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Screens display a news conference held by Federal Reserve chairman Kevin Warsh on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Screens display financial information on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders pass by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
