The Devils Bet a Cup on Hellebuyck’s Rebound

Connor Hellebuyck was traded to the New Jersey Devils by the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 23, the day his team suspension was due to end. New Jersey sent forward Dawson Mercer, goalie Nico Daws, forward Nick Bjugstad, the rights to unsigned 12th overall pick Alexander Command, a 2029 second-round pick and a 2027 seventh-round pick the other way.

The Devils are paying that package, and five seasons at $8.5 million a year, for a 33-year-old who just posted the worst save percentage of his 11 NHL seasons. Winnipeg is taking the young pieces and moving on.

New Jersey Is Betting the Hart Trophy Version Returns

Two seasons ago Hellebuyck won the Hart Trophy as league MVP and the Vezina as the NHL’s top goalie, the eighth goalie to take both. He went 47-12-3 with a 2.00 goals-against average, a.925 save percentage and eight shutouts in 63 games, leading the league in wins, goals-against average and shutouts while Winnipeg took the Presidents’ Trophy.

Last season the Jets missed the playoffs, finishing seventh in the Central Division and eight points behind the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild card. Hellebuyck went 23-23-11 with a 2.86 GAA and a .895 save percentage in 57 starts, with no shutouts for the first time.

In February he backstopped the United States to Olympic gold, the country’s first in men’s hockey in 46 years, going 5-0 with a 1.18 GAA and a.956 save percentage in five starts. The Devils’ own release added that he took tournament honors for best goals-against average, best save percentage and best goaltender.

That split is the wager. New Jersey is buying the Hart and Olympic goalie and hoping last year’s.895 was the outlier. General manager Sunny Mehta, in his first season, had told the league before camp that he was reluctant to put heavy assets into the position. He did it anyway, and he did it without moving Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier or a future first-round pick.

I certainly wish we could have done it four months ago, or whatever, when the opportunity started and we were looking, but here we are here today.

Kevin Cheveldayoff, Winnipeg Jets general manager, Oct. 23

Cheveldayoff also said he was comfortable with what we accomplished over the long process, then called Hellebuyck to thank him. The delay is the other half of the same bet. Once the request went public, the market shrank to clubs Hellebuyck would approve, and Friday was the last day Winnipeg could keep him off the roster without paying him.

What the Jets Took in Return

The club posted the haul before the GMs had finished talking it through.

https://t.co/70DBrXdcAf

— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) October 23, 2026

THE RETURN TO WINNIPEG

Mercer has four assists in 10 games this season and has not missed a game in six NHL seasons, with 213 points (103 goals, 110 assists) in 420 games. He scored 20 goals three times, including 42 points (20 goals, 22 assists) in 82 games last season, and was New Jersey’s first-round pick, 18th overall, in 2020. His $4 million cap hit through 2027 is the last year of a three-year, $12 million deal, after which he is a restricted free agent.

Command, taken 12th overall in June, has 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in six games with Orebro’s junior club and no points in six Swedish Hockey League games. Giving him up four months after the draft is the piece that will follow Mehta if this does not work. Daws, New Jersey’s third-round pick in 2020 (No. 84), is 26-26-1 with a 2.94 GAA and a.897 save percentage in 59 career games. Bjugstad had surgery last month on a torn left pectoral muscle and is expected to miss four to six months.

There is no future first-round pick in the deal. That is the holdout tax. A 33-year-old goalie who sat out camp, coming off a.895, does not clear the same market as the 2024-25 MVP.

The Suspension Ended on the Same Friday

Hellebuyck asked privately during the offseason, then said so in public when camp got close. Winnipeg stopped paying him when he stayed home.

THE HOLDOUT CALENDAR

1. Aug. 27, 2026: Hellebuyck confirms a trade request through agent Ray Petkau.
2. Sept. 16, 2026: The Jets suspend him for not reporting to training camp.
3. Oct. 2, 2026: He notifies the club he intends to return, before the regular season starts.
4. Oct. 23, 2026: The suspension is due to expire, and the trade to New Jersey lands instead.

He said then that he had tried to keep the request quiet while the club looked for a deal. “With training camp approaching, I felt it was important to publicly confirm my request. My position has not changed. I believe moving on is the best path forward for me and my family.”

His 2026-27 base salary is $7.5 million. He drew none of it from Sept. 16 through the trade. The NHL’s collective bargaining agreement lets a club impose a suspension of reasonable length when a player misses camp without permission, and both sides treated three weeks of the regular season as that window. Friday was the day he was supposed to walk back into the room. He is going to Newark instead.

Five Years Remain on an $8.5 Million Deal

Hellebuyck is in year three of the seven-year, $59.5 million contract he signed with Winnipeg on Oct. 9, 2023. The average annual value is $8.5 million through 2030-31, when he will be 38 and an unrestricted free agent. PuckPedia’s board shows New Jersey taking a net $1.65 million cap hit once Mercer’s $4 million, Daws’ $1.1 million and Bjugstad’s $1.75 million come off.

The contract still carries a full no-movement clause this season, which is why he had to sign off on New Jersey. Starting in 2027-28 it becomes a modified no-trade clause with a 10-team approved list. He chose the Devils. Earlier reporting around the request had him unwilling to waive for a Canadian club, which cut Winnipeg’s list of realistic bidders before Mehta ever called.

That clause is why this did not become a bidding war with a first-round pick at the center. It is also why New Jersey could get him without touching Hughes or Hischier. The Devils get certainty in net through the rest of Jack Hughes’ prime, if the 2024-25 version is the one that shows up.

Mehta Had Downplayed Spending on a Goalie

New Jersey is 6-4-0, fourth in the Metropolitan Division, and has scored 3.30 goals per game. The problem was the other end. Coach Sheldon Keefe, after a 4-1 win over Anaheim in which the Ducks managed 17 shots, said his group had a role in making the job easier in front of the net. The numbers still lagged.

THE CREASE NEW JERSEY JUST UPGRADED

• Team save rate: .876, tied with the Anaheim Ducks for 23rd in the NHL.
• Jake Allen: 4-2-0, 3.15 GAA,.883 save percentage in six starts.
• Nico Daws (traded): 2-2-0, 2.78 GAA,.872 save percentage in four starts.
• Hellebuyck, 2024-25: 2.00 GAA,.925 save percentage, eight shutouts.

Allen remains on the roster at $1.8 million through 2029-30 and slides into the backup job. Hellebuyck has not played an NHL game this season, and the club has not said when he will start. New Jersey visits Winnipeg on Nov. 10, the first date on the schedule that puts him in the building he just left.

The Devils have missed the playoffs in 11 of the past 14 seasons and have not made them in consecutive years since a 13-year run ended in 2009-10. Mehta’s trade says this group, with Hughes, Hischier, Luke Hughes, Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce, is done treating the crease as a coin flip.

Winnipeg Hands Sunday’s Outdoor Game to Skinner

The Jets are 4-3-3 without him. They play the Montreal Canadiens outdoors in the 2026 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic at Princess Auto Stadium on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET. Ten years to the day before the trade, on Oct. 23, 2016, Hellebuyck made 29 saves in a 3-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers in the same event at the same stadium, then called Investors Group Field.

Captain Adam Lowry said on Oct. 17 that the room was focused on the group it had. “Obviously, it’s a big piece in our lineup missing, whether it’s assets or whether it’s the player himself. But this is what we have.” Coach Scott Arniel, the same day, said his 23 players cared about winning games and that he was not spending time on who was there and who was not.

WHO HAS THE NET IN WINNIPEG NOW

• Stuart Skinner: Signed a two-year, $7.5 million deal ($3.75 million AAV) on July 1 and is 3-1-3 with a 2.67 GAA and a.912 save percentage in seven starts.
• Clay Stevenson: Claimed on waivers from the Washington Capitals on Sept. 28 and is 1-2-0 with a 3.08 GAA and a.893 save percentage in three starts.
• Nico Daws: Arrives as a third option after four starts in New Jersey this season.

Cheveldayoff called the new depth a change of “133 percent” and said the club would evaluate it. Mercer and Daws were expected to fly in Friday evening. Cheveldayoff also said that if forward Viggo Bjorck had not been there at No. 8 in June, Winnipeg likely would have traded down to take Command, whom he described as a serious, no-nonsense competitor.

Hellebuyck leaves as the Jets/Atlanta Thrashers franchise leader in games (625), starts (615), wins (345) and shutouts (45). His.916 save percentage and 2.58 GAA are the best among goalies with at least 80 games for the club. He was a fifth-round pick, 130th overall, in 2012, and he played all 11 of his NHL seasons in that crease.

Hellebuyck’s Playoff Record Travels With Him

The regular-season résumé is why New Jersey paid. The postseason numbers are why the bet can still lose. He is 24-34 with a 2.90 GAA, a.903 save percentage and five shutouts in 58 Stanley Cup Playoff games, all starts. Career regular-season mark: 345-208-55.

That gap is what Mehta is asking a 33-year-old to close behind a defense that, on paper, should not need a nightly rescue. If the Hart version returns, New Jersey has a goalie who can turn a 6-4-0 team that already scores into a club that can live in May. If last year’s.895 is the new baseline, the Devils will have spent Mercer and Command on a long, expensive decline.

Winnipeg, for its part, no longer has to wait on a player who asked out, sat out and was due back Friday. Skinner has the Heritage Classic. Mercer has a middle-six job next to Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele. Command stays in Sweden until the Jets decide he is ready.

New Jersey has not named a debut. The next time these clubs share a sheet of ice is Nov. 10 in Winnipeg.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Years Are Left on Hellebuyck’s Contract?

Five, including 2026-27, on an $8.5 million average annual value that runs through 2030-31. He becomes an unrestricted free agent at age 38 after that season, and the 2026-27 base salary on the deal is $7.5 million.

Who Is Alexander Command in the Hellebuyck Trade?

Command is an 18-year-old Swedish center the Devils took 12th overall in the 2026 draft. He has 12 points in six junior games at Orebro this season and no points in six SHL games, and Winnipeg holds only his NHL rights because he is unsigned.

Does Hellebuyck Still Have a No-Movement Clause?

Yes for 2026-27, which is why he had to approve the trade to New Jersey. From 2027-28 through 2030-31 the protection drops to a modified no-trade clause with a 10-team approved list.

What Else Has Hellebuyck Won Besides the Vezina?

The Hart Trophy as NHL MVP in 2024-25, plus two William M. Jennings Trophies (2023-24 and 2024-25) for the league’s lowest goals-against average, three First All-Star Team nods and Olympic best-goaltender honors at the 2026 Winter Games.