Connor Hellebuyck is, arguably, the best goalie on the planet. Statistically speaking, no goaltender has produced a better goals saved above expected (GSAx) in the analytics era (2007-present), and no current goaltender has been as consistently excellent as he has been over the years. To boot, no goaltender has shouldered the workload Hellebuyck has, with him having produced those numbers with far more volume against him than his comrades.
By virtue of that success and stature in net, Hellebuyck's contract -- a seven-year deal with an average annual value of $8.5 million that he signed in October of 2023 -- has some significant trade protections in it. This season, he carried a full no-movement clause, meaning that if he wanted to get traded (which he did), he could fully control his destiny.
As with many of the players who have trade protections and have requested a trade, the number of teams at first was expectedly limited. In fact, according to Elliotte Friedman, Hellebuyck's original list included exactly one team: the Florida Panthers, who entered 2026-27 as one of the absolute favorites to win the Stanley Cup.
Connor Hellebuyck has already shown faith in his New Jersey Devils brethren
After the Panthers were rightfully unwilling to include Anton Lundell in their return package for Hellebuyck, the Winnipeg Jets took their time and, ultimately, the goaltender expanded his list to include every team he believes has a chance to be a legitimate contender for the Cup. Time went by, and ultimately it was New Jersey that landed him.
For the best goalie in the world to look at the Devils as a true contender should be both flattering and, well, the right call. Anyone looking at how New Jersey was playing on a nightly basis could see that they were in a league of their own relative to their opponents for the most part, ultimately crushing the teams they were playing in terms of underlying process. The results might not have been immediately there, but they eventually normalized to their underlying process, and the Devils really do look like a powerhouse in the East.
Now, with Connor Hellebuyck backstopping the team, they are unquestionably considered one of the very best teams in the league. As they should be.
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