Connor Hellebuyck trade: Jets send star goalie to the Devils in exchange for four players, two draft picks

Hellebuyck finally gets his wish met to be moved out of Winnipeg after asking for a trade in the offseason Oct 23, 2026 at 2:34 pm ET • 5 min read Connor Hellebuyck is a now a Devil. The star goalie for the Winnipeg Jets is on the move after being traded to New Jersey on Friday in exchange for four players and two future draft picks. the teams announced the move with the Jets receiving Dawson Mercer, Nick Bjugstad, Nico Daws and Alexander Command, plus a 2027 seventh-round pick and a 2029 second-round pick. Hellebuyck expressed his desire to be traded in the offseason when he formally requested a move in August. He said at the time that he had made the request months earlier and tried to keep the situation private. Hellebuyck has spent his entire career with Winnipeg after being drafted by the Jets in 2012 at No. 130 overall. He's recognized as one of the best goalies in the league as a three-time Vezina Trophy winner. He also helped carry the United States to its first gold medal at the 2026 Olympics in February with some incredible saves against Canada in the final game.After trading Jacob Markstom in the offseason, the Devils had a clear need in goal, and this splashy move certainly fills that need. With a talented young core already in place, New Jersey's Stanley Cup window is wide open. For the Jets, it must be a hard pill to swallow when a franchise icon decides to walk out they door, but this trade package should help them as the enter a new era and revamp the roster. Winnipeg got a former first-rounder in Mercer to try and add to a rebuild as well as a veteran presence in Bjugstad. They also acquired a younger goalie in Daws who could fill the role of Hellebuyck at just 25 years old.The tradeDevils receive: G Connor HellebuyckJets receive: F Dawson Mercer, C Nick Bjugstad, F Alex Command, G Nico Daws, 2029 second-round pick, 2027 seventh-round pickThe gradesDevilsGoaltending has been an issue in New Jersey for a while now -- even after the team acquired Markstrom from the Calgary Flames in 2024. Markstom never really panned out, and his 13.6 goals allowed above average, per Natural Stat Trick, were a big reason why the Devils missed the postseason last year.In the early portion of this season, it was clear that New Jersey needed to make a move to upgrade in the crease. Daws and veteran Jake Allen simply aren't a tandem suitable for a Stanley Cup contender, and the numbers backed that up. New Jersey ranks 24th in team save percentage at .877, and the duo of Daws and Allen combined to surrender 2.99 goals above average. Once Hellebuyck gets up to game speed, that shouldn't be a problem anymore.In the three-season stretch from 2023-26, Hellebuyck led the NHL with 73.42 goals saved above average, which is 20 goals higher than the next closest netminder. Over that span, Hellebuyck also posted a standard save percentage of .914 and an astronomical high-danger save-percentage of .832.Hellebuyck carried less talented teams to the playoffs multiple times in his career. Now on a team loaded with weaponry in their prime -- Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier to name a few -- Hellebuyck could be the final piece to the championship puzzle.In terms of the acquisition cost, it was probably an easy deal for Devils general manager Sunny Mehta to make. The 2029 second-round pick is useless for a team that should be all-in now, Bjugstad is simply a depth piece and Daws now has no path to a starting role with Hellebuyck in town. The most interesting trade chips are Mercer and Command. Mercer flashed major upside with 56 points in his second NHL season, 2022-23, but he hasn't really come close to hitting those heights again. Still, even if he has plateaued, Mercer remains a strong middle-six forward rising into his prime.Although Command had his detractors -- and may have been over-drafted at No. 12 overall -- he was a consensus first-round pick last summer. That gives Winnipeg a potential franchise forward it can build around long-term, but New Jersey already has one of the deepest forward groups in the league, especially with the emergence of Arseny Gritsyuk and the acquisition of Luke Evangelista.If we're looking for a 3-D chess angle of this deal, it only makes the Devils more appealing for a certain Minnesota Wild defenseman whose brothers just happen to play in New Jersey already. Grade -- A+ JetsLet's get the obvious out of the way first: The Jets were never going to get fair value for Hellebuyck because, at his best, he's the No. 1 goaltender in the world with no equal. That type of excellence can't be replaced.That said, Winnipeg did fairly well given the circumstances. Hellebuyck made a public trade request, and he wasn't even with the team after sitting out for the entirety of training camp. The entire league knew the Jets had to trade him.Hellebuyck's talent created a decent market anyway, but most of the suitors were bona fide Stanley Cup contenders with little in the way of valuable draft capital, and they weren't going to knee cap the roster by sending a key player back in return. With all that taken into consideration, Kevin Cheveldayoff got a solid return. Although Mercer's ceiling may be lower than initially thought, he's a 24-year-old forward who banks roughly 20 goals and 20 assists every season. The kicker with Mercer will be Winnipeg's ability to re-sign him before he hits restricted free agency next summer.The addition of Command means Winnipeg now has two forwards selected in the top 12 of the 2026 NHL Draft after taking center Viggo Bjorck themselves. If both of those players deliver on their first-round pedigrees, they could be a terrific one-two punch for the team long-term.Daws was a third-round pick in 2020, and despite playing just 13 NHL games since the start of the 2024-25 season, he should give Winnipeg a solid back up option behind Stuart Skinner. It certainly helps that Skinner is off to a great start with his new team -- and if Daws develops into a true No. 1 -- it'll be gravy. If there's any reason to critique this deal from the Jets' side of things, it's that they didn't get premium draft capital or a surefire up-and-coming prospect. Maybe Command develops into a star, but there's no guarantee he becomes a top-six stud in the NHL.The Jets got a lot of good stuff, but they didn't really get anything great, at least not based on what we know in the moment. Because of that, I have to ding Winnipeg a little bit. Grade: B