The Connor Hellebuyck era in Winnipeg is officially over.

A blockbuster trade Friday sent the three-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Dawson Mercer, Nico Daws, Nick Bjugstad, prospect Alexander Command and two draft picks (a second-round pick in 2029 and a seventh-round pick in 2027).

“Obviously, you’re sad to see him go,” said former teammate and close friend Mark Scheifele after practice Saturday. “He’s a fantastic goaltender, but at the end of the day, you want the best for him and wish him the best in Jersey.

“He was one of the best goalies in the world. Three Vezinas, Hart Trophy. A goalie that got us to some places and memories that I’ll remember forever,” Scheifele added. “I think obviously that you try to take the positive out in anything, and I only remember the positives from him.”

Hellebuyck hasn’t played in a game since last season after requesting a trade during his exit meetings and subsequently failing to report to training camp, resulting in a suspension from the Jets.

The storyline has taken over the NHL during the first month of the regular season, with players waiting in uncertainty for the situation to finally come to an end.

“It was a bit of a cloud hanging over our heads,” said Jets captain Adam Lowry. “As we’ve said all along, [Hellebuyck] is a good friend of ours. But to see the situation resolved, to see him back playing and going to an organization he wants to go to, and then getting the pieces we got back, we’re excited to have [Mercer], Nico, Nick eventually.”

Kyle Connor kept things short and sweet when discussing the trade and how he’ll choose to remember Hellebuyck as a teammate. The two played 10 seasons together as Jets, won Olympic gold medals for Team USA at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Games and spent plenty of time off the ice together in Winnipeg.

“Yeah, super excited to get the guys that we got in the fold who want to be here and want to be part of Winnipeg Jets hockey,” said Connor. “Obviously there were a lot of great memories. All the stuff he did on the ice and the stuff off the ice, and there are a lot of great memories there. I’m sure everybody has their own version of it and same with fans as well.”

With a full no-movement clause, a difficult goaltending market and the calibre of player Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff was trying to move, this was as unique a trade as you might find.

“This was about who had the legitimate needs, and when you get into a situation like that, that’s the group you’re dealing with,” Cheveldayoff said Friday. “A lot of the teams that had their number one goalies locked in – heard from a lot of their managers and saying, ‘hang in there … I feel for you, buddy.’ Like that was the sentiment of what you got from some of my counterparts that were sleeping easy at night as opposed to wasting away the summer.”

Hellebuyck has already met with the media in New Jersey but didn’t dive into specifics about his perspective on how everything unfolded. That will come later.

“There is a lot that I need to say, but they have their Heritage Classic game coming up, so out of respect for them and the celebration of hockey, I’m gonna postpone that to a later date,” Hellebuyck said Saturday when asked whether he had a message for Jets fans. “I hope they know I care about them.”

This chapter may be coming to a close, but a new one will be written when Hellebuyck returns to Winnipeg to face his former team for the first time.

“Yeah, just with that situation finally coming to an end, it’s not going to be talked about until I guess November 10th when he comes back,” Lowry said with a smile. “So we got a week’s reprieve, I guess.”

The Jets begin a new era of hockey, officially without Hellebuyck, on Sunday evening when they face the Montreal Canadiens in the Heritage Classic.