The New Jersey Devils took a big swing on Friday, acquiring goaltender Connor Hellebuyck from the Winnipeg Jets in a blockbuster deal and they’re hoping he is someone they haven’t had in a long time.
A franchise goaltender.
Since Hockey Hall of Fame and franchise legend Martin Brodeur last suited up for the Devils in 2014, it has been a revolving door in net trying to fill his shoes.
Cory Schneider turned in some good regular seasons during his seven-year stint with the club but only reached the playoffs once in those years. Injuries and inconsistency ended his time with the Devils and after Schneider, it has been very mediocre in net for New Jersey.
The Devils tried filling the gap two years ago when they acquired starter Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames in June of 2024. He had a solid first season in 2024-25 and helped them get back to the playoffs but after last year’s struggles where he put up some of the worst numbers in his NHL career (.883 save percentage and 3.07 GAA), they moved on from him in a trade with the Florida Panthers.
Starting the 2026-27 season with Nico Daws and Jake Allen in net, both have struggled statistically this season. Allen is a respectable 4-2 but is rocking an .883 save percentage with a 3.15 save percentage while Daws was 2-2 with an .872 save percentage and 2.78 GAA.
New Jersey traded Daws along with centre Dawson Mercer, prospect forward Alexander Command, forward Nick Bjugstad and two draft picks to secure Hellebuyck’s services, ending a long standoff between him and the Jets after he requested a trade in the off-season. Hellebuyck refused to report to training camp, leading to a suspension without pay, and has yet to suit up this season.
Hellebuyck’s suspension from the Jets was set to end today before the trade.
Now Hellebuyck is a whole different tier of goaltender than what the Devils have been trotting out since Brodeur.
While the 33-year-old took a step back last season statistically with an .895 save percentage and 2.86 GAA as the Jets plummeted down the NHL standings, Hellebuyck is not far removed from his recent seasons where he was a back-to-back Vezina Trophy winner (2024 and 2025) and Hart Trophy winner (2025).
He backstopped the United States to its first Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey since 1980 in February at Milano Cortina 2026, famously beating Canada in the title game in overtime.
Since going to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012, the Devils have made the playoffs just three times and have advanced past the first round only once in 2022-23 before falling in five games to the Carolina Hurricanes.
It’s been almost a decade since they drafted captain Nico Hischier first overall and star centre Jack Hughes is in his eighth NHL season with very little playoff success to show for it.
And for Hellebuyck, postseason success has also eluded him. While the Jets have been a consistent playoff team since he took over as the starter, the furthest they went was the Western Conference Finals back in 2017-18. Otherwise, the Jets haven’t come close to making a real run to the Stanley Cup.
Hellebuyck is in the third season of a seven-year, $59.5 million contract extension that carries an AAV of $8.5 million, so the Devils have five seasons to hope that Hellebuyck will solve its longstanding problems in net.