The Connor Hellebuyck chase is over, and the Colorado Avalanche never looked like a serious landing spot once the final package came into focus.
On Friday, the three-time Vezina winner was dealt to the New Jersey Devils, and the return was huge enough to explain why Colorado was never likely to get in the mix. New Jersey sent Dawson Mercer, Nick Bjugstad, Alexander Command, Nico Daws, a second-round pick and a seventh-round pick to Winnipeg in the deal.
That is a massive haul, and it quickly became clear that the Avalanche would have struggled to match it.
Colorado doesn’t have a young center on Mercer’s level to throw into a trade like that. Mercer has been labeled a bit of a bust in New Jersey, but he’s still viewed as a solid top-six forward. For the Avalanche, the closest comparable piece would have been Nic Roy.
Command is another big reason the deal was so steep. The 12th overall pick in this year’s draft is the kind of prospect Colorado simply doesn’t have sitting in the system. Even if a player like Beckett Hamilton had been enough to move the needle, the Avalanche still would have had a hard time matching that kind of first-round value.
Bjugstad would have been the easiest part for Colorado to handle. The Avs have enough depth forwards that his inclusion wouldn’t have changed the equation much.
The goalie piece is where things get especially interesting. Nico Daws is 25 and was once viewed as the Devils’ future in net, but that’s no longer the case.
If Colorado had wanted to make a comparable move, the best equivalent might have been sending Ilya Nabokov to New Jersey. The question then becomes obvious: would moving Nabokov for roughly three years of Hellebuyck have been worth it?
The draft picks don’t really move the needle compared with the rest of the package.
In the end, it’s fair to wonder whether Colorado ever got very far in these discussions at all. There’s nothing to indicate the Avalanche even put an offer on the table. And even if talks did happen between the Avs and Jets, the conversation may never have gone beyond a simple check-in.
There’s also the broader point: the Avalanche don’t need Hellebuyck. He would have been a major upgrade, no question, but Colorado doesn’t appear to be in a spot where it had to force the issue.
If anything, the bigger need seems to be a power-play scorer. Patrik Laine, anyone?
Looking at what New Jersey had to surrender, it makes sense the Avalanche never blinked. With the cost that high - cap space and no-trade clauses aside - this was the kind of swing that could have been too expensive for Colorado to justify right now.
And there is at least one small benefit for the Avs: Hellebuyck is now in the Eastern Conference. The only way Colorado would run into him outside of two games this season is if the Devils and Avalanche meet in the Stanley Cup Final.
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