The Devils finally got their first look at Connor Hellebuyck on the ice as a member of New Jersey on Monday, and his arrival comes with plenty of attention baked in.
Hellebuyck skated in his first practice since the Devils acquired him from the Winnipeg Jets on Friday. The 33-year-old goalie was part of a major trade package that sent Dawson Mercer, Nick Bjugstad, Alexander Command, Nico Daws, a second-round pick in the 2029 NHL Draft, and a seventh-round pick in the 2027 draft back to Winnipeg.
It is also Hellebuyck’s first appearance with an NHL team this season. He did not report to Winnipeg’s training camp and was suspended for the first 10 games of the season for failing to report.
The 6-foot-4 netminder is coming off a rough year by his standards, finishing last season with a 23-23-11 record, a .895 save percentage and a 2.86 goals-against average with the Jets. But his résumé is still loaded.
Hellebuyck has won the Vezina Trophy three times, in 2020, 2024 and 2025, and he captured the William M. Jennings Trophy in back-to-back seasons in 2024 and 2025.
He also posted the best season of his career in 2024-25, going 47-12-3 with a 2.00 GAA and a .925 save percentage while winning the Hart Trophy, the first in either version of the Jets franchise. The Commerce, Mich., native then backstopped the United States to its first Olympic gold medal since 1980 at Milano Cortina 2026.
Elsewhere around the league, the Capitals had two players exit practice early on Monday. Goaltender Logan Thompson and defenceman Jakob Chychrun both left after practice got underway, according to Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network.
Thompson, 29, had already missed Saturday’s 4-3 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres because of a lower-body injury. On Monday, he skated for about 45 minutes before leaving. The 6-foot-4 goalie has gone 4-3-0 this season with a 2.90 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage.
Chychrun, 28, has one goal and seven points in 10 games for Washington this season and is averaging 24:40 of ice time.
In Carolina, Taylor Hall was back on the practice ice Monday, while newly signed Alexander Nikishin had not yet rejoined the club, according to team reporter Walt Ruff.
Hall, 34, missed the Hurricanes’ five-game Western road trip while dealing with a lower-body injury. He has three goals and five points in eight games this season.
Nikishin signed a one-year, $3 million contract on Sunday after the Hurricanes were unable to accommodate his trade request as a restricted free agent. He will become a restricted free agent again at the end of the 2026-27 season.
The 6-foot-3 left-shot defenseman had 11 goals and 33 points in 81 games as a rookie last season while averaging 18:11 of ice time. He also chipped in an assist in 17 playoff games, averaging 14:50, and helped the Hurricanes win their first Stanley Cup championship in 20 years.
Back in Raleigh after their State Fair road trip, the Hurricanes are set to host the Bruins on Tuesday.
In Other News...
Jets Trade Looks Even More Telling After Hellebuycks Latest Hint
Alexander Nikishins situation with Carolina has already been one of the more unusual stories around the team this year, and it only looks more layered in hindsight. The defenseman had been at the center of a contract standoff before ultimately staying put, giving the Hurricanes a talented blue-line piece to keep building around while also closing off one of the more intriguing offseason paths on the board.
What makes the whole episode linger is how close the team may have come to a very different outcome. For all the talk about keeping Nikishin in Raleigh, there was a window when a move elsewhere was very much in play, and that possibility now hangs over what the Hurricanes chose to do. Even with the deal done, the broader question of how aggressively Carolina explored the market around him still gives the story a little more bite. [Read more 🡒]
Hurricanes Came Closer Than Fans Realized On Connor Hellebuyck
Long before Connor Hellebuycks name became the kind of rumor that can light up the market, Carolina was among the teams kicking tires on a goalie pursuit that apparently got a lot closer than many around the league realized. Elliotte Friedman reported that the Hurricanes were one of several legitimate suitors in trade discussions, alongside Florida, Buffalo and Utah, as the conversation around Winnipegs star netminder moved through different stages and started running into the usual obstacles that can sink a blockbuster.
The details, though, never lined up cleanly enough to push things over the top, and Friedman said the talks stalled for a mix of reasons that varied from team to team. For Carolina, it was part of a broader chase that suggested the Hurricanes were at least seriously exploring ways to shake up the position, even if the final hurdle remained out of reach. For a team that keeps looking for the edge in net, that makes the latest Hellebuyck chatter worth a second look. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Suddenly Face A Dmitri Voronkov Decision Fans Wont Ignore
The Hurricanes are still sorting through the kind of roster questions that usually linger until the market starts to move, and Jalen Chatfield is one of the quieter ones with real weight behind it. Carolina has not had recent contract talks with the defenseman, and there are no current plans to resume them, which leaves his future hanging as the club continues to think through its next round of decisions on the back end.
Chatfields situation fits into a broader stretch of uncertainty around the league, where teams are weighing not just trades but spending priorities and their own pending free agents. For Carolina, the lack of traction on an extension is the notable part, especially with the season now far enough along that every pause starts to look meaningful. If the sides do not revisit things soon, the path forward gets clearer, and not necessarily in the way the Hurricanes would prefer. [Read more 🡒]