5 Lessons From The Connor Hellebuyck Trade

1. The best time to trade a player is early; the value only goes down from there. The analogy is a car: once it’s purchased, the value is at its highest. In the Jets’ case, they had offers when the draft took place. ​

There were reports that the Buffalo Sabres wanted to acquire Hellebuyck, and other teams were willing to move top draft picks to make the deal happen. Instead, the Jets waited, hoping the trade request from their goaltender would subside and that a better offer would come later. ​

Weeks turned into months, and the Heritage Classic, combined with a team-imposed suspension ending, put an official clock on this trade. The Jets had to get it done this weekend. Devils' general manager Sunny Mehta made his offer to acquire Hellebuyck at a time when he knew the Jets were desperate to get a deal done. ​

The return for many hockey fans appears underwhelming. The Devils gave up Dawson Mercer, Nico Daws, Nick Bjugstad, Alexander Command, and two future draft picks. However, none of the draft picks were first-rounders, and Mercer is the only NHL-ready skater in the return.

​The problem for the Jets is that their hands were tied. Hellebuyck had a no-trade clause and could pick his destination. Moreover, they had to trade him, and the rest of the league knew it. ​

That said, GM Kevyn Chevedeyoff waited until the last minute, even though he had better offers earlier. Many people would criticize Jim Rutherford for making trades well before deadlines, whether it was the Bo Horvat or Quinn Hughes deals. However, that approach gave the Vancouver Canucks the best possible offers, and when the best offer is on the table, it’s best not to wait. ​

2. Eventually, every GM must make a big swing to take a good team and put it over the hump. Mehta is coming over from the Florida Panthers, who were known for their aggressive approach under GM Bill Zito. Only three players on the back-to-back Cup-winning teams were drafted and developed by the team (Aleksander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad, and Anton Lundell). The rest were signed in free agency or added in trades. ​

Zito’s early years as the Panthers team builder featured under-the-radar trades that turned into home runs. The Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett trades came at a low cost and gave them two top-six forwards. However, Zito had to take the big swing to turn the Panthers into a Cup contender.

​That swing was Matthew Tkachuk. The Panthers gave up a lot to get him, sending MacKenzie Weegar and Jonathan Huberdeau to the Calgary Flames. However, the Tkachuk move changed the team and built them for the Cup runs. ​

Eric Tulsky operated the same way when he took over as the Carolina Hurricanes GM. His big swing was the Mikko Rantanen trade, yet what made that move more impressive is that he realized it wouldn’t work out and flipped the star to the Dallas Stars for Logan Stankoven, who became an integral part of the 2026 Cup winner (interestingly, the Rantanen addition also gave the Hurricanes Taylor Hall, who was also a pivotal part of the playoff run). ​

Sure, these trades can backfire. Nobody wants to be the GM who trades away Nick Suzuki for Max Pacioretty, yet everyone wants to be the Vegas Golden Knights, who made that deal along with the Jack Eichel and Mark Stone trades to build the 2023 Cup team. ​

Mehta is operating the same way but at high speed. He made his safe bets early on in his tenure, acquiring Amadeus Lombardi, Luke Evangelista, and a handful of depth players with his upside in the offseason. Now, he’s ready to take swings. Hellebuyck is the big one that takes a Devils team that’s 7-4 and puts them in the contention conversation. ​

3. Great teams can never have enough depth. When Mehta took over the Devils, it was a priority to add depth both on the NHL roster and at the American Hockey League level. Having the extra players helps when the injuries pile up but also allows a GM to make a trade and not worry about the fallout.

​Mehta moved Mercer, a valuable middle-six winger, in the Hellebuyck trade. Yet, he had the luxury of trading him because Evangelista, Anthony Mantha, and Jesper Boqvist, three players he acquired this summer, were playing a similar role and could fill that void. ​

While it’s tough to trade Daws, a goaltender who was developed in the Devils farm system, the move was possible because of the Rémi Poirier waiver claim. If Hellebuyck isn’t ready for a few weeks, Jake Allen can take on the majority of the workload while Poirier can start a game or two. ​

Adding depth also adds resources to the team. The Devils were in a better position to make this trade now than they were by the draft because of all the moves Mehta made.

​4. Goaltending doesn’t make the biggest difference, but it makes enough of a difference. The conversation around the Devils and goaltending after the trade was whether Hellebuyck adds enough value to make a difference. Does any goaltender move the needle enough to turn a team into a Stanley Cup contender? The recent Cup winners, notably the Hurricanes and Golden Knights, proved that a team doesn’t need to spend big on the position or have a clear-cut number one to win it all. ​

Mehta, who comes from an analytical background, addressed this topic at Hellebuyck’s introductory press conference. “I think that the spread is narrower than most people think, but that doesn't mean the spread is zero at all,” he stated about the impact of elite goaltending. ​

It’s worth adding that the position is tougher to predict. So, why make a move for a goaltender when the deal can flop? If the goaltending position is tricky to predict, where do you want to bet on? You want to bet on a person that has a large sample size of excellent results who's on a good cap hit. That's literally the three things that hit with Connor,” Mehta added. ​

A great goaltender might add a few wins or steal a few games. Similarly, the gap between good and great coaching might be a game or two. However, that’s the difference between making and missing the playoffs. More importantly, a game or two can be the difference between winning a series or two. With Hellebuyck in the net, the Devils have enough of an edge over their division rivals to make the playoffs. If he plays at a high level, they might have the advantage over any team in a playoff series. And that’s a strong enough argument for Mehta to make this trade.

​5. One move in a vacuum might not work out, but if it opens the door for other star players, then it makes the initial deal worthwhile. The John Tavares contract, for example, wasn’t a great one for the Toronto Maple Leafs, arguably an overpay. That said, that deal convinced other star players to join the Maple Leafs and, more importantly, convinced the young core at the time that they were building something special (even if they didn’t in the end).

​A more relevant example for the Devils is the Sergei Bobrovsky contract. When the Panthers signed the goaltender, it was viewed as a terrible deal that was sure to age poorly. However, that contract was the first move to build them into a contender. By signing a star goaltender, it convinced other players that they were willing to buy in and make a push for a Cup.

​The Devils made a handful of moves to convince Hellebuyck to lift his no-trade clause and join them. The direction that the team is heading in convinced him that they are trending in the right direction.​

Likewise, the Hellebuyck trade sends a message to the room that this front office is willing to go all in. It also sends the message to players on other teams that the Devils are making a push to win a Cup, and it’s a place worth signing in free agency or waiving a no-trade clause to join.