The New Jersey Devils traded for Connor Hellebuyck. Despite the months of rumors around Quinn Hughes and Dylan Larkin, adding them to his acceptable trades list, Sunny Mehta targeted the top goaltender on the market over other superstars.
For months, Mehta has said in interviews that he would be fine with starting Nico Daws and Jake Allen all season. They even signed David Rittich and claimed Remi Poirier on waivers prior to the season starting. They were going with a depth approach over one clear starter.
The season didn’t start well. Rittich is doing well with the Utica Comets, but Poirier has yet to make any contributions to the Devils, and Allen and Daws had a rough start to the season. They were near the bottom of the league in goaltending statistics going into last week.
That’s why it’s not a suprise to learn that Mehta jumped into the negotiating process with the Jets late. Jets GM Kevin Chevaldayoff said he appreciated Mehta’s approach, and the Devils paid a dear price to get Hellebuyck, but the Devils' goaltenders' play made it inevitable.
And with that, it also wouldn’t be a surprise to hear that the Devils wanted to get Hellebuyck into the starting lineup the first day that he’s ready. They might want to play this one slow.
The Devils schedule makes starting Connor Hellebuyck a bad idea
Hellebuyck will eventually be the Devils’ big-game player, but they don’t need to do that right away. Reports say that Hellebuyck might be ready as early as this week, and it comes with a terrifying back-to-back on the schedule against the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars.
If Hellebuyck is even 80% ready or less, they should refrain from starting him on that back-to-back. The Devils are rolling right now, and Hellebuyck played without a training camp. We’ve seen the long-term effects of a missed training camp on guys like Luke Hughes and Dawson Mercer. It must be even worse for goalies, who are built on rhythm and habits.
On top of that, the Devils have two NHL goalies to target, and there’s a reason to play Poirier this week. The Devils are playing the Stars, the same team that put Poirier on waivers. It could be a revenge game for him, and it would be a fantastic story.
If Hellebuyck is ready, then great. Play him. However, it might just make sense to give him an extended conditioning stint, even with a game in Utica if that’s allowed.
Add us as a preferred source on Google