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It’s a gold medal reunion in New Jersey.
The Devils acquired goalie Connor Hellebuyck from the Jets in a trade that will see the Olympic champion team up with fellow USA star Jack Hughes once again.
Winnipeg will receive goalie Nico Daws, forwards Dawson Mercer and Nick Bjugstad, 2026 first-round pick Alexander Command, a 2027 seventh-round pick and a 2029 second-rounder in its return package.
Hellebuyck requested a trade out of Winnipeg during the offseason, which led to a bizarre turn of events in which the Jets suspended him for not showing up to training camp.
The deal marks the biggest swing of GM Sunny Mehta’s tenure, which began in April.
The 33-year-old immediately becomes the top option in net for coach Sheldon Keefe, with veteran Jake Allen handling backup duties.
While it may take time for Hellebuyck to get into full game shape after missing all of training camp, he brings instant credibility in net to a team with Stanley Cup hopes.
The Michigan native, a fifth-round pick in the 2012 draft, holds a 345-208-55 record, all with the Jets, twice leading the NHL in wins with three Vezina Trophies and two Jennings Trophies to his credit — earning both in a standout 2024-25 season that saw him also take home the Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP.
He is in the third year of a seven-year, $59.5 million contract extension that has an $8.5 million AAV.
Less avid hockey fans will certainly know him from his heroics in Milan during the Winter Olympics in which he backstopped Team USA to a thrilling overtime win over Canada in the gold medal game, finishing off an unbeaten run.
The 41-save performance in the finale earned him widespread praise, including from President Donald Trump, who gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor.
“The members of this great hockey squad will be very happy to hear based on their vote and my vote, and in this case, my vote was more important that I will soon be presenting Connor with our highest civilian honor,” Trump said during the State of the Union in February. “Great athletes have gotten that very great, the best. And I thought he deserved it.”
The Devils face the Kings on Saturday at home, but their Nov. 10 game in Winnipeg has now taken on a different meaning.
