The Connor Hellebuyck saga intensified this week, as it has all offseason. From the Winnipeg Jets calming the waters at the draft to the trade request in August. The latest news is that the Jets are suspending the star goaltender after failing to show up for training camp. 

All the news points to when, not if, Hellebuyck will be traded. He’s the best goaltender in the game in his prime, and the New Jersey Devils are among the many teams that would love to acquire him to take a good team to the next level. 

The question is whether the Devils have enough to convince Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff to make a trade. More importantly, can they make the best offer? Teams across the league will pursue Hellebuyck heavily, and the Jets will get what they want in a blockbuster trade. 

Based on conversations around the league, the Jets are looking for at least three pieces, if not more. Ideally, they land a goaltender to soften the blow while building around a top-six center, a young top-pair defenseman, and a first-round pick. This doesn’t replace Hellebuyck, certainly not in the short term. However, it allows the Jets to retool without spending multiple seasons at the bottom of the standings (and Winnipeg is a market that can’t afford to spend years at the bottom). 

The Devils have those players to make that type of trade. The defenseman they’d have to move is Anton Silaev, a prospect the team is high on, but someone they must move in a big trade. The center they’d look to move is Dawson Mercer, who is 25 and a skilled player to build around. 

To get a deal over the finish line, the Devils would have to trade a first-round pick. The good news for GM Sunny Mehta is that they have two of them thanks to the Simon Nemec trade. So, they can use one to acquire Hellebuyck. 

The bottom line is that the Devils have the pieces to make this deal work. The problem for them is that multiple teams have the same offer ready, if not more, to acquire him. 

The fascination with the Hellebuyck trade saga is that he’s not putting Cheveldayoff into a corner, at least not yet. He has a no-trade clause but is willing to move it and open things up to a few teams. As a result, the Jets can negotiate with multiple teams. 

The Buffalo Sabres are the team expected to acquire him. They can make their best offer with the assets they have, including Konsta Helenius, Radim Mrkta, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Plus, the Sabres can look at Hellebuyck as the final player to keep their contention window open for years to come. 

The Utah Mammoth are another team that has prospects on top of prospects, and eventually might look to move a few for elite talent. They can give the Jets a young center, whether it’s Tij Iginla or Caleb Desnoyers, and a young defenseman in Dmitri Simashev. Plus, they have a first-round pick in the 2027 draft and two in the 2028 draft thanks to the JJ Peterka trade this offseason. 

It’s worth mentioning that Iginla is a more intriguing player for the Jets because of the player's background. The Jets are known as a team that struggles to attract talent in free agency and isn’t for everyone. Players from the Western Hockey League, who are used to the region, tend to adapt better to the market. Iginla not only played in the WHL but, as Jerome Iginla’s son, understands the market well (the Calgary Flames have a similar issue). 

The Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup and will have a convincing argument for Hellebuyck, who is looking to establish a winning legacy to end his career. The surprise is that the Hurricanes also have prospects, including Bradly Nadeau and Ivan Ryabkin, plus a frustrated defenseman in Alexander Nikishin. They can also throw in Pyotr Kotchetkov or Brandon Bussi to give the Jets the goaltender they are looking for. 

There will also be a surprise team or two. The Florida Panthers don’t have the assets but are set up to win another Cup, and Paul Maurice coached Hellebuyck early on in his career. The Panthers, like a lot of teams, want the world-class goaltender but don’t have the pieces to make it work. Add it all up, and the Devils are on the outside looking in on a bidding war. 

The Devils have extra players and futures to throw into an offer if they want to outbid teams. If Mehta wants, he can use both of the 2027 first-rounders or add in Arseny Gritsyuk, who is a young and exciting player that the Jets would love to add to their forward group. 

That said, it’s doubtful that Mehta will want to go all in on Hellebuyck in his first season as the GM. From the moment he took over, he made moves in the offseason to build up the Devils with both short- and long-term success in mind. Going all in squanders the long-term plan he built up. 

There’s also value in keeping everything intact until the season begins. Mehta will want that flexibility by midseason and a clear picture of where the Devils are. Then, he can make a big trade, whether it’s for Hellebuyck (who will likely be off the board by then), Quinn Hughes, or a wild-card name like Dylan Larkin. 

The bottom line is that it’s possible the Jets land Hellebuyck, and it wouldn’t be a surprise. That said, it’s unlikely, and if the Jets see all the offers, they’ll likely take the Mammoth or Sabres deal. 

Hellebuyck won’t just go anywhere. He’ll be traded to a team that is set up to win and has enough assets to both acquire him and remain competitive. The Devils check those boxes, especially if he goes there. 

There’s a question of whether Hellebuyck wants to play with fellow USA Gold Medal teammates. Hughes is one, but many of the teams listed have at least one, if not more (the Panthers have both Tkachuk brothers). There’s also the ability for Hellebuyck to join the Devils and establish himself as the next great goaltender in the team’s history behind Martin Brodeur. 

However, that doesn’t matter to Hellebuyck. He cares about his legacy and knows the only way to enter that pantheon of all-time greats is by winning a Stanley Cup. He’s won the Vezina Trophy multiple times, won the Hart Trophy following his 2024-25 season, and he won a Gold Medal. The only thing missing is a Cup, and he wants to join a team that can do that. 

The Devils are one, but not the only one. It’s why the next few days will be fascinating to watch as this all unfolds.