Thursday afternoon, all-world goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made his private trade request from earlier in the off-season public, having his agent put out a statement on his behalf. He no longer wants to be a Winnipeg Jet.
As expected, this has piqued the interest of many a Devils fan. After all, New Jersey has not had a bona fide, plug-and-play starter since Cory Schneider was healthy in 2016-17. Jacob Markstrom was supposed to be that netminder, but never quite lived up to expectations, ultimately getting traded to the Florida Panthers this summer.
There is no question that Hellebuyck would be a gigantic upgrade in net for New Jersey, given that he is one of five or six goaltenders in the entire NHL who will provide, at minimum, average goaltending on any given night. That said, even despite the now-public trade request, the Devils would be wiser to keep their powder dry.
Jake Allen, Nico Daws, and David Rittich may not be remotely close to the level that Hellebuyck plays at, but they can provide the Devils with adequate, average goaltending in the aggregate. Allen has been arguably the league's best backup since he was acquired, Rittich has been above average himself, and Daws has shown flashes of brilliance in short stints in the NHL. Combined, they should be more than capable of giving the Devils average-to-above-average goaltending.
It was proven this past postseason that any team with a dominant skater group can succeed -- and win a Stanley Cup -- with average goaltending. Both the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes, the two teams that faced each other in the finals, were examples of that.
Connor Hellebuyck is not the type of player Sunny Mehta targets
Thus, it was unlikely that the Devils would be trading for Hellebuyck earlier in the off-season, and it's unlikely that they'll be trading for him now. New Jersey is likely better off for it, too -- even though acquiring a goaltender who doesn't have the archetypal performance fluctuations of the position is extremely valuable in concept, there's no telling what type of injuries can befall a 33-year-old backstop. The Devils saw Schneider and Jonathan Bernier deal with significant injuries around that time in the last decade alone, not to mention Corey Crawford, who abruptly retired shortly after signing with the Devils.
Instead, keeping their powder dry for a big fish at a more predictable and controllable position, given that they're seemingly poised to receive steady goaltending-by-committee performances, seems like the prudent thing to do. Think Dylan Larkin, Alex DeBrincat, or even Quinn Hughes instead of Hellebuyck -- that would be even more valuable to acquire for the Devils.
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