What we learned from Connor Hellebuyck's first weekend with the Devils

The Connor Hellebuyck trade has been made, it's been analyzed and he's landed in New Jersey to join his new Devils teammates. New Jersey won one more game without him on Saturday, while his former team in Winnipeg gears up for the Heritage Classic Sunday night and prepares to move on.

Now it's time to look forward to what comes next.

Hellebuyck did hit the ice in New Jersey on Saturday, but not for a full team practice yet. The Devils are off on Sunday, so he'll get his first full skate with his new teammates on Monday, then travel to Dallas to start a one-week road trip.

When will we see Hellebuyck play a game? How did this trade come together? And why did the supposedly "anti-goalie" GM trade for one of the highest-paid at the position?

Here's what we learned from Hellebuyck's first weekend as a New Jersey Devil.

How has Hellebuyck been getting ready for his return?

Hellebuyck has not played a game or been involved in an NHL team practice in over six months. Training camps opened around the league a little over one month ago and most teams have played 11 regular season games or more. Hellebuyck has catching up to do, but hasn't just been just sitting at home waiting.

The netminder said he'd been on the ice five to six times a week and training with pros Robby Fabbri and Antonio Stranges, as they look for contracts. Hellebuyck said they went through their own training camp and, since it wasn't within a team environment, he's been able to focus on his own preparation.

"The positive side of it was I got to do what I needed to do. So it wasn't just maybe power play, penalty kill, it was what (detail) I felt like I needed to get into my game."

Which begs the question...

When is he going to play?

Hellebuyck arrived ahead of Saturday's game versus Los Angeles (a 3-1 Devils win) and laughed that if it were up to him, he'd have started that game.

The Devils set off on the road this week, with a Tuesday-Wednesday back-to-back in Dallas and Colorado, followed by a trip to Vegas on Friday. After that, they'll return home to New Jersey for two games against Edmonton and St. Louis.

Jake Allen started Saturday's win and 25-year-old Remi Poirier is on the roster, but hasn't played NHL minutes yet. In all likelihood, someone other than Allen will start one of the games in Dallas or Colorado, and Elliotte Friedman reported on Rogers Saturday Night Hockey that it might be Hellebuyck.

"I was reminded today that last year when he came back from surgery he practised twice and then played," Friedman said. "Do not be surprised if we see him in one of those (back-to-back) games. He will try to make that work."

Mehta said the Devils will take their time getting him ready and when he starts will be a decision made with input from the GM, the player, the coach, and the "athlete care department."

Hellebuyck is eager, but did acknowledge a practice or two would help.

"Getting into an NHL practice at NHL speeds through a whole roster is going to be important, but I don't think at this point in my career it's going to take me long," he said.

Hellebuyck is used to being a heavy-usage starter, playing 60 or more games in four of the past five seasons. From 2021-22 through to today, only Juuse Saros has started more games and faced more shots than Hellebuyck. Allen, meantime, has played 31 and 37 games with New Jersey the past two seasons.

Mehta said the discussion about Hellebuyck's workload hadn't been had yet.

When did the trade come together?

GMs talk all the time, especially when it comes to players like Hellebuyck who were known to be available. Mehta described some low-level talks about Hellebuyck in his previous conversations with Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff months ago, but nothing serious. Then, as Hellebuyck's suspension was coming to an end, the talks suddenly got red hot.

"It ramped up very quickly, very significantly in the last couple days," Mehta said Saturday. "In the time that (Mehta and Cheveldayoff) re-touched base on it just this week, we probably went from those talks into a finished deal in less than two days."

How do the cap numbers work for New Jersey?

The specific timing of this trade may also have had something to do with how neatly the cap numbers work out.

PuckPedia did a great breakout of New Jersey's situation, pointing out that every dollar Hellebuyck was forfeiting during his suspension was also being shaved off his cap hit for the 2026-27 season. So his AAV of $8.5 million turns into an $8.089 million cap hit this season. By moving out Dawson Mercer, Nick Bjugstad and Nico Daws, New Jersey is left with $118,454 in cap space now that Hellebuyck's suspension is lifted.

That number will move back to an $8.5 million cap hit next season, meaning the Devils currently have $95.075 million committed to next season with 16 players signed. With the cap set to rise to $113.5 million in 2027-28, New Jersey would have roughly $18.452 million in room with six or seven players to sign. This is all assuming no more changes come to this roster, but the Devils could get more active from here.

Why Hellebuyck?

Much has been made of Mehta's comments about goaltending being difficult to predict and, therefore, he's less inclined to spend money and assets to fill the position, but there's nuance to this approach. As we looked at in our analysis of the trade, while goaltending is a volatile position, there are a certain few who are worth such a commitment, and Hellebuyck would be one of them.

Mehta recalled a paper he had written in 2010 -- in which he "built a Bayesian hierarchical model" -- which broke down where goaltending talent was making a difference in the NHL. The No. 1 goalie on his model at the time was Roberto Luongo during his peak Canucks years, acknowledging that certain talents do stand out from the pack.

"I think the spread (of goalie talent) is narrower than most people think, but that doesn't mean the spread is zero at all," Mehta said. "While, yes, 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."

This is a match for Hellebuyck, too, a three-time Vezina winner, one-time Hart Trophy winner, and Olympic gold medallist. Top goalies still matter.

What did his teammates say?

Two things have been well-told by now. One, the Devils are a league leader when it comes to expected goals (xG%) and Corsi For (CF%) percentages at 5-on-5, but bottom half of the league by save percentage. Goaltending has been a position of need going back to last season, when Jacob Markstrom began to struggle.

The other is that Hellebuyck himself had a down year statistically in 2025-26, finishing with a save percentage just below league average. But even that comes with a couple of caveats: he had knee surgery during the season that forced him out for a month and, while his traditional stats weren't great, he still saved more goals than would be expected with the shots he faced.

Of course the Devils players are excited about how he'll transform their outlook:

"There should be a lot of (noise) about (the trade). It's a huge splash for our team and our market. Shows us that our ownership and management is putting the pieces together to give us a great opportunity to win every night," said Jack Hughes, an Olympic teammate of Hellebuyck's. "This group can't complain about goaltending at all, nor can our fans. We have a great tandem back there and it's something to be excited about."

Defenceman Brenden Dillon played in front of Hellebuyck for three years in Winnipeg and knows the goalie's tendencies, especially when it comes to playing the puck. But the fact that the Devils were able to add a goalie of Hellebuyck's stature and that he chose to waive his no-trade clause to come to New Jersey is a shot in the arm for the club.

"Unreal. The person, the hockey player, what he brings on and off the ice, just the confidence a goaltender of his calibre will have throughout the team. Going to be well received by all of us," Dillon said. "Was good to get him in the mix a bit today, obviously a quick turnaround. Sad to see those guys that left, but what an add he's going to be. A fantastic, fantastic player."

Dillon continued: "When you're winning and players want to come to (the organization), it's a sign of a great team."

Response to Winnipeg is coming

Meanwhile, Hellebuyck's former team has lost four in a row -- accumulating two points -- and is gearing up for the Heritage Classic Sunday in Winnipeg against Montreal (watch on Sportsnet at 6:00 p.m. CT / 7:00 p.m. ET). They have their own things to work on and will be integrating Mercer and Daws.

Given all this, Hellebuyck put off commenting on his time in Winnipeg and why he asked out for now, but would at a more appropriate date.

"Canada loves their hockey and I felt that to the bone. I loved my time there and I loved the people I met," Hellebuyck said. "There's a lot I need to say. But they have the Heritage game coming up, so out of respect for them and the celebration of hockey, I'm going to postpone that to a later date. And I hope they know I care about them."

Hellebuyck and the Devils will face the Jets in Winnipeg just over two weeks from now, on Nov. 10.