Hellebuyck goes to the Devils. What do the Jets have to build with?

What does Winnipeg have to show for giving up its longtime answer in goal? Six assets, several ways to reshape its roster—and no single player who can be assumed to replace Connor Hellebuyck.

The Jets traded the 33-year-old goaltender to the New Jersey Devils on Friday, October 23, 2026, ending a months-long standoff over his request to leave. Both clubs announced the same return: forwards Dawson Mercer and Nick Bjugstad, goaltender Nico Daws, the draft rights to Alexander Command, New Jersey’s own second-round pick in 2029 and its own seventh-round pick in 2027. The Devils received Hellebuyck. ^{25 37}

That is a broader package than the two headline names, Mercer and Command, might suggest. The Chicago Sun-Times highlighted those two in its October 23 account; the clubs’ announcements establish the full exchange. The difference is completeness, not a conflicting version of the deal. Winnipeg has acquired NHL players, an unsigned prospect’s rights and two future selections—not six interchangeable answers to the same problem. ^{1 25 37}

Mercer gives Winnipeg an NHL forward who can play center. Bjugstad adds another forward, while Daws brings a goaltender into an organization losing its longstanding presence in net. Those additions give the Jets players to work with now, rather than a return consisting entirely of distant possibilities. Their inclusion does not establish how Winnipeg will deploy them or what its new arrangement in goal will deliver. ^{1 25}

Command belongs in a different category. New Jersey selected the Swedish center 12th overall in the 2026 draft, and his development had been expected to continue in Sweden. Winnipeg acquired the right to sign him, not an established NHL player ready to take a lineup spot. His value to the Jets still depends on the distance between being a highly selected prospect and becoming a productive professional at the highest level. ^{21 40 41}

The picks extend the return into two later drafts. Winnipeg can use those selections itself or include assets in another transaction. In the Global News account of the team’s explanation, a Jets representative described the deal as addressing forward needs, adding organizational depth and supplying assets usable in the draft or at the trade deadline. That is a case for flexibility, not a promise that every part of the package will stay in Winnipeg. ^{25 2}

Flexibility is useful, but it is not the same thing as replacing Hellebuyck’s contribution. The Jets have spread the potential return across several players and different development timelines. New Jersey has made the opposite choice: surrendering that collection to acquire one established goaltender. Counting the pieces cannot settle which approach will work better.

The transaction closes a dispute that began well before the regular season. NHL.com reported on August 27 that Hellebuyck had made his trade request public after asking privately several months earlier. The precise date of that private request is not established. He later failed to report to training camp and was suspended by Winnipeg in September. ^{60 3}

Winnipeg’s representative denied that a recent four-game losing streak drove the timing, according to the Global News source account. The Jets stood at 4-3-3 in the Sun-Times’ October 23 snapshot. The denial is the team’s explanation of its decision, not independent proof of every consideration behind it; the available evidence does not establish which representative delivered that particular statement. ^{2 1}

The contract history makes the reversal especially stark. On October 9, 2023, Winnipeg announced a seven-year extension for Hellebuyck at an $8.5 million annual average, beginning in 2024–25. That was a $59.5 million commitment running through 2030–31. Just over three years after announcing that long-term plan, the Jets have traded the player around whom it was built. ^{45 29}

Those historical contract terms do not settle the accounting of this transaction. The available trade evidence does not establish salary retention, any conditions attached to the picks, or documentation of contractual movement protection or a waiver. Silence on those details should not be converted into a claim that no such provisions exist.

For Chicago, Hellebuyck’s departure removes an unusually difficult opponent from the Central Division. Ben Pope’s October 23 Sun-Times account reported that Hellebuyck was 23-8-1 across 32 career matchups against the Blackhawks, with a .921 save percentage and a 2.25 goals-against average. Those figures come from that published account and have not been independently reconciled against a dated game log. ¹

The history goes back to 2016–17, his first season as a full-time NHL starter. According to the same account, Hellebuyck beat Chicago in four consecutive meetings between November and January before the Blackhawks beat him in February. Those four defeats represented four of Chicago’s 23 regulation losses that season. This was a recurring obstacle, not merely one memorable bad night. ¹

Still, changing Hellebuyck’s division does not improve Chicago’s own roster, and the Blackhawks can face him again when they play New Jersey. Nor does his record against one opponent predict what the Devils will get from him. It explains why a rival might welcome the move, not who won the trade.

The clearest result is more immediate: neither Winnipeg nor New Jersey has to plan around an unresolved demand anymore. The Devils have the goaltender they paid to acquire. The Jets have players, signing rights and selections they can develop, use or trade. Ending the standoff is an accomplishment. Turning the return into a team that can move forward without Hellebuyck is the harder job still ahead.