The New Jersey Devils dominated the news cycle on the day before NHL Free Agency. First, they traded Jacob Markstrom and Angus Crookshank to the Florida Panthers for Evan Rodrigues, Jesper Boqvist, and Ben Steeves. It was a great trade for the Devils, who get two decent analytics-forward NHL players plus an AHL player for Markstrom, who was due $6 million per season for the next two years.Â
Then, the Devils signed Arseny Gritsyuk to a three-year deal worth $3.25 million per season. Getting those two deals done brings an understanding of what Sunny Mehta can do on July 1st. For one, he has to re-sign Nico Hischier, and it sounds like that situation is already solved. They also now need to address goaltending. Again.
The Devils have needed a goaltender since Martin Brodeur retired. Sure, they had a couple seasons of Cory Schneider, but by the time they were ready to compete, he was no longer viable. They had players who looked like the answer, like Keith Kinkaid, Mackenzie Blackwood, Jonathan Bernier, Akira Schmid, Vitek Vanecek, and most recently, Markstrom. There were more than a dozen other goalies who got starts since Brodeur hung up his skates, but these were the ones that at least gave us hope.
Now, it’s time to get a legit starter with no strings attached. That’s where the Connor Hellebuyck rumors started.Â
Of course, many were going to connect the dots. The Panthers were reportedly trying to assess Hellebuyck’s availability, which is probably a conversation Sunny Mehta was involved in months ago. He knows how to value Hellebuyck. And now, the Devils are sitting with Jake Allen and Nico Daws as their two goalies.Â
Most Devils fans wouldn’t be confident in an Allen-Daws tandem. Many Devils fans would be over the moon for a Hellebuyck-Allen or Hellebuyck-Daws tandem.Â
The Connor Hellebuyck hype may not lead to anything good
Unfortunately, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet put cold water on the rumors. In his annual Free Agency Day notebook dump, he isn’t sure New Jersey is the most likely destination for the best available goalie.Â
"I don’t buy the New Jersey hype. It’s not a contract that fits the profile of new GM Sunny Mehta. Hellebuyck would waive to Buffalo, but a couple of sources have said since last weekend that a trade wasn’t as close as we thought. Some of the rumoured Sabres returns have new no-trade protection. Winnipeg would love to bring him back, but I think it’s unlikely."Elliotte Friedman, Sportsnet
That's an unfortunate update. Hellebuyck is the most prominent goalie on the market and could be the best in the league. The other great goalies, like Igor Shesterkin, Ilya Sorokin, Logan Thompson, and Jeremy Swayman, to name a few, are not going to be available. If the Devils do want to add, they either have to take a chance on Sergei Bobrovsky or Stuart Skinner in free agency, or they have to trade for a flier like Alex Lyon, Devon Levi, or Filip Gustavsson.
Hellebuyck should be the guy, even if the contract doesn't "fit the profile" of Sunny Mehta, but we tend to trust Friedman's analysis of the situation.
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