NEWARK — New Jersey Devils have acquired Connor Hellebuyck from the Winnipeg Jets in a calculated gamble by general manager Sunny Mehta, giving up Dawson Mercer, Nico Daws, 2026 first-round pick Alexander Command, currently-on-LTIR Nick Bjugstad and a couple of picks outside the first round for the 33-year-old goaltender.
The move comes weeks after Mehta told NHL.com in September: "Goaltending has changed dramatically during the past 20 years... Because there is randomness at the position, I'm reluctant to invest significant assets there instead of in areas where the results may be more predictable." What looked like philosophy now looks like negotiating through the media, with Mehta ultimately willing to part with a substantial package to land a potentially world-class goaltender who had also been connected to Carolina and Buffalo.
Hellebuyck instantly gives the Devils credibility in what looks like a wide-open division and signals they are dead serious about competing at a time when they are being dogged by rumours that Jack Hughes wants out, or that American stars like Quinn Hughes or Dylan Larkin may be eyeing them as a future destination. There is obvious risk — Hellebuyck is 33, is coming off a down season hampered by a knee injury, has a lot of miles on his body and missed both training camp and the first few weeks of the season — but Jake Allen and Daws have not been very good, allowing a combined 6 goals above expected according to MoneyPuck in the first 10 games, even after Allen stole one the other night against Colorado.
The price was eminently reasonable for New Jersey. Winnipeg were facing the prospect of paying Hellebuyck a lot of money to sit at home, and while the Jets have not been ripped off, the return is significantly worse than reported offers they could have had from Buffalo or Florida around the time of the draft. Mercer, just days before his 25th birthday, was long heralded as a potential first-line centre but has never really shown it apart from one very good season in 2022-23, and with Hughes and Nico Hischier a better 1-2 punch than most teams have up the middle when healthy, he was effectively blocked. He produces like a middle-six forward who has never finished a season with a career faceoff percentage of 39 and is averaging 15:06 a game this year. The rest hinges on Command, an 18-year-old versatile longer-term project who has not yet come to North America, along with a second-round pick, while Bjugstad had nine points in 61 games last season and Daws is a mediocre backup, with a 2027 seventh hardly anything. That Mehta kept both first-round picks he controls for the 2027 draft and gave up no more than one of his top prospects says much about his approach and how poorly Kevin Cheveldayoff handled the saga.
Winnipeg are not worse than yesterday because Hellebuyck has not played a game for them this year, but with centre depth a long-standing problem, Mercer must now grow into that role if Cheveldayoff is to save face, while Command will need to prove NHL-ready and forge chemistry with Viggo Bjorck. Mehta, by his own admission, is taking on serious reputational risk if Hellebuyck does not perform, yet he got the best player in the trade by a mile, denied conference and division rivals a difference-maker, and with more good assets to trade and almost $17 million in cap space for 2027-28 as the Devils try to fashion themselves into a real destination, he might not be done dealing.