The Devils got the goalie they wanted in Connor Hellebuyck, and they did it without paying through the nose. That much is clear. The part that comes with a little caution is what happens next.
Hellebuyck, who is 33, missed all of training camp, brief as it was, and he also hasn’t played since the end of last season. For a goalie, that’s not a small gap. Even if he’s in game shape, there’s still a difference between being ready and being fully sharp.
In a perfect world, the Devils would ease him in with a short conditioning stint in the AHL before handing him his debut. But this is not a perfect-world situation. New Jersey needs him right away, so the more likely outcome is that he steps straight into the action and finds his rhythm on the fly.
That’s where the concern lives. A layoff like this can leave a goalie out of sync, and there’s no clean way to know how much it will affect Hellebuyck until he’s actually playing. Jeremy Swayman is the example that should have Devils fans paying attention.
Swayman sat out all of 2024 training camp because of a contract dispute with the Bruins, then signed just before the 2024-25 season started. The missed preseason clearly showed up in his game. He never really settled in and wound up with a down year by his own standards.
He was much better last season, and that only sharpens the lesson for New Jersey. Goalies need real-game reps to find their timing, and practice alone doesn’t fully replicate that speed or pressure.
The same basic idea applies here. Hellebuyck will need some time to get back into his groove, even if that time is shorter than it was for Swayman. The Devils are banking on the fact that he’s a veteran and a three-time Vezina Trophy winner, which should help him get back to mid-season form faster.
After that, the only remaining issue is whether the Devils actually defend in front of him. But that’s another conversation.
In Other News...
Devils Trade Solves More Than Just Their Biggest Problem
The Devils move to bring in Connor Hellebuyck came at a timely moment, with his suspension ending just as New Jersey was looking to stabilize the most important spot on the ice. The deal with Winnipeg, which sent Dawson Mercer the other way, does more than reshape the crease. It also clears a path for forward Amadeus Lombardi, whose role had been waiting for a real opening.
Lombardi is expected to settle into the lineup on a regular basis, and the fit looks cleaner now with the roster space created by the trade. New Jersey has been trying to solve multiple problems at once, and this transaction seems aimed at exactly that, pairing a major answer in goal with a chance to get more consistent forward depth in place. The only question now is how quickly the new look can settle in once the games start. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Fans May See Sunny Mehta Differently After Hellebuyck Trade
The dust is still settling after the Devils and Jets swapped Connor Hellebuyck in a deal that brought Dawson Mercer, Nico Daws, Alexander Command, Nick Bjugstad and draft picks into the conversation, and now there is a little extra light being thrown on one of New Jerseys quieter front-office figures. With Hellebuycks suspension having ended and the trade coming together in the build-up to the Heritage Classic, Winnipeg general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff singled out Devils executive Sunny Mehta for the way he handled the negotiations.
For Devils fans who mostly know Mehta by reputation, the comments offer a reminder that these deals are shaped just as much by tone and trust as by names on a transaction sheet. Cheveldayoff described Mehta as straightforward and serious during the talks, which is the kind of detail that tends to stick when a major trade is still fresh and both sides are trying to move on to the next chapter. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Just Sent A Clear Message About Their Win-Now Plan
The Devils have spent years weighing whether it made sense to pour major assets into a goalie, and Sunny Mehta has been one of the louder voices around that caution. But with the front office now bringing in Connor Hellebuyck in a deal built around multiple players and draft picks, New Jersey has made its clearest statement yet about where it thinks this roster stands and how aggressively it wants to chase contention.
It is not just a move about the crease, either. A trade of this size can ripple through the rest of the Devils' plans, and it gives them a different kind of pressure point as they look ahead. If Mehta is willing to make this kind of swing in goal, it naturally raises the question of what else he might be willing to do, including whether the Devils can stay in the hunt for bigger names such as Dylan Larkin or Quinn Hughes. [Read more 🡒]