By now, all hockey fans have heard the news going around the league: Connor Hellebuyck has officially requested a trade out of Winnipeg while Quinn Hughes has yet to extend with Minnesota. Hughes, in fact, just yesterday made his future more uncertain when telling reporters that essentially he doesn’t need to sign an extension right now. While neither Winnipeg nor Minnesota seem keen to move either of their players, having a disgruntled one can’t be good for the locker room of the former, while being
an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season has to be a concern for the latter.
So how does this affect the New Jersey Devils?
Well, both names have been on the team’s radar for a while for different reasons. Goaltending has been a revolving door for the Devils ever since Cory Schneider’s prime was unexpectedly cut short by injuries and surgeries. Hopefully things improve now that the constant from that time period is gone. The Hughes connection is even more obvious with the brothers openly talking about their desire to play together. While Jack and Luke have already had that fortune thanks to some draft luck, and Quinn and Jack got to represent the US in the Olympics together, the three haven’t been united in the NHL. Now I don’t realistically believe that the Devils could acquire both (at least not before/during this season) but either could be a large boon for the franchise.
Hellebuyck being brought in would again hopefully right the wrongs of Devils goaltending. While Jake Aleen has been good in his Devils tenure and Nico Daws may or may not be serviceable, Hellebuyck would give the Devils a true #1 in net. While Connor’s stats were down last season, he absolutely could bounce back this season. It’s not as if he’s been continually trending downward; in fact, he posted the best statistical season of his career just the year prior. Maybe it’s not smart to invest assets and $8.5 million in cap space on a goalie who could be declining, but on the other side of that is that (despite Sunny Mehta cleaning the mess up) the Devils never should’ve invested $6 million in a goalie who was never the proven commodity that Hellebuyck is.
If the Devils were to try and acquire Hellebuyck, I think he would cost a bit less, although goalie value is always hard to gauge. Not only are goalies up and down in their play at times, but they also tend to return less in trades, as teams at times have proven that you can win even with an average goalie. The Devils obtained some extra assets, mostly in the Simon Nemec trade this summer, but also moved some of them out to acquire Luke Evangelista from Nashville. If the Jets are willing to move on from Hellebuyck, the Devils should be inquiring as long as it is at a reasonable price. He would immediately shoot up the team’s depth chart to #1 and if he was even statistically the goalie that he was the seasons prior to his career highs in 2024-25, it would still be heads and shoulders above the Devils’ recent goaltending.
Quinn on the other hand would bring an immediate difference maker on the back end. He’s one of the more complete defenders in the NHL right now; he’s not Cale Makar (honestly, who is?) but he’s also a defender who can both contribute points and keep the puck out of the net and moving in the correct direction. His desire to play with his brothers (or at least one of them, I guess) is known, and the soonest this could happen without anyone being traded would be next summer. Finding a way to bring him in could help to ease the burden on some of the team’s other defenders and improve the back end depth, even if another defender went back to Minnesota as part of any hypothetical deal.
I do believe Minnesota still has a chance to re-sign him; I also understand both viewpoints that he’s leaving at the end of the season or that he’s just waiting until the time is right to sign an extension. I don’t think the Devils swing a trade for Quinn though, as Minnesota’s asking price is likely to be sky high and rightfully so. I think this deal only happens if Quinn doesn’t want to stay through the season and says the only team he will extend with is New Jersey. I also don’t see that being particularly likely, so it will be interesting keeping an eye on whether Quinn extends during the season or not. And hey, if he makes it to unrestricted free agency, maybe turnabout is fair play for any Wild fans reading this.
In either player acquisition scenario, there would have to be player(s) moving out along with other assets, and the Devils may not have what it takes to pull off either move, depending upon the wants of each of the other teams. I do think again that Hellebuyck would be a somewhat lower price though, again due to position and a down season. I briefly mentioned acquiring both, and I think the only scenario where that happens involves the Devils trading for Hellebuyck, signing Quinn in the summer, and other current Devils being moved out, either in said trade or separate deals to make room for both players. I also can say I do not realistically expect the stars to align and for this to happen. Maybe Mehta is savvy enough to get one on the books, but I doubt we see the Devils becoming a super team within one season. Adding either, however, would strengthen an already improved group further and add a bit more optimism for the upcoming season.
What are your thoughts on the possibility of the Devils adding one of these big names; do you believe there is any real possibility it happens this season? Do you think Quinn is trying to get to unrestricted free agency to join the Devils? Could Sunny Mehta find a way to augment his current group with one of these players without sacrificing any important pieces currently on the team? Leave any thoughts down below and thanks as always for reading!
