{"id":943617,"date":"2026-10-23T19:44:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T19:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/943617\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T19:44:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T19:44:09","slug":"connor-hellebuycks-illustrious-winnipeg-jets-career-comes-to-sour-end-following-trade-to-new-jersey-devils","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/943617\/","title":{"rendered":"Connor Hellebuyck\u2019s illustrious Winnipeg Jets career comes to sour end following trade to New Jersey Devils"},"content":{"rendered":"

Connor Hellebuyck<\/a> was a cornerstone of the Winnipeg Jets<\/a> franchise for over a decade. <\/p>\n

Now, both parties will enter a new chapter as the 33-year-old has been dealt to the New Jersey Devils <\/a>for prospect Alexander Command, forwards Dawson Mercer<\/a> and Nick Bjugstad<\/a>, goaltender Nico Daws<\/a>, a second-round pick in 2029, and a seventh-round pick in 2027.<\/p>\n

It appeared Hellebuyck would spend the rest of his career in Winnipeg after signing a seven-year, $59.5 million extension in 2023 that would take him through his age-38 season.<\/p>\n

However, the relationship between the player and club soured and came to a head this summer, when Hellebuyck publicly announced his trade request before refusing to report to Jets\u2019 training camp. <\/p>\n

He missed the entirety of camp and the first 24 days of the regular season after being suspended by the Jets and will now report to the Devils for the new start he was searching for.<\/p>\n

Home Run Draft Pick<\/p>\n

The Jets took a chance on the unheralded Commerce Township, Mich., native in the fifth round of the 2012 NHL Draft and hit a home run. <\/p>\n

He made his NHL debut in 2015-16 and immediately made a strong impression with a 13-11-1 record and a selection to Team North America at the World Cup of Hockey.<\/p>\n

By his third season in the league, Hellebuyck was among the NHL\u2019s elite goaltenders. He posted a 44-win season to go along with a .924 save percentage and a 2.36 goals-against average as he finished second in Vezina Trophy voting and was named to his first All-Star team. He backstopped the Jets to the Western Conference Final in his first taste of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.<\/p>\n

Hellebuyck cemented his status among the elites in 2019-20 when he claimed his first of three Vezina Trophies.<\/p>\n

Decade of Dominance<\/p>\n

Hellebuyck provided the Jets a steady presence in net for 11 seasons, during which he won 345 games with a .916 save percentage and .258 GAA over 615 starts. He is just a year removed from being the runaway winner of the Hart Trophy, the first and only MVP nod of his career, and the Vezina Trophy in 2024-25, putting up a 47-12-3 record with a 2.00 GAA and .925 save percentage.<\/p>\n

He is the Jets\u2019 franchise leader in games played (625), wins (345), and shutouts (45). <\/p>\n

Playoff Disappointments<\/p>\n

The Jets reached the postseason six times with Hellebuyck in net, but could not get over the playoff hump, never advancing past the second round after their initial trip to the Conference Final in 2018.<\/p>\n

He endured his own struggles in the postseason, especially in recent seasons as the Jets\u2019 contention window began to close.<\/p>\n

Hellebuyck\u2019s save percentage was below .900 in each of the Jets\u2019 past three playoff runs, which included two first-round exits and one trip to the second round, when they were eliminated by the Dallas Stars<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In 58 playoff games across seven postseason runs, the four-time All-Star failed to reach his own lofty regular-season standards, posting a 24-34 record with a .903 save percentage and 2.90 GAA.<\/p>\n

Trade Request<\/p>\n

Hellebuyck and the Jets endured a difficult 2025-26 season, as the goaltender went 23-23-11 with the Jets last season with a 2.86 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage. Winnipeg took a step backward, going from Presidents\u2019 Trophy winners the year before in 2024-25 to missing the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s winning a Stanley Cup \u2013 that\u2019s my goal, and that\u2019s all I have left, and that\u2019s what I want on my resum\u00e9,\u201d Hellebuyck said after the season ended in April. \u201cI don\u2019t play this game for the money, I don\u2019t play it for the fame. I do it for my own personal fun and, you know, part of that is winning a Cup. So for me, I\u2019m just looking at how can I get that? How can I get there?\u201d<\/p>\n

The relationship ended in August, when Hellebuyck released a statement through his agent confirming his trade request. <\/p>\n

\u201cSeveral months ago, I privately requested a trade,\u201d Hellebuyck said in his statement. \u201cI have tried to handle the situation quietly and respectfully while giving the organization time to explore its options. With training camp approaching, I felt it was important to publicly confirm my request. My position has not changed, and I believe moving on is the best path forward for me and my family.<\/p>\n

\u201cWinnipeg has been my home for my entire NHL career, and I will always be grateful for my time there.\u201d<\/p>\n

He will now join his Team USA teammate Jack Hughes<\/a> in New Jersey as the pair try to bring the Devils back to contender status in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Connor Hellebuyck was a cornerstone of the Winnipeg Jets franchise for over a decade. Now, both parties will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":943618,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[712,49,48,74728,79562,22073,74727],"class_list":["post-943617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-apple-news","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-connor-hellebuyck-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8476945","tag-new-jersey-devils-sports-hockey-team-team-nhl-api-1","tag-winnipeg","tag-winnipeg-jets-sports-hockey-team-team-nhl-api-52"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/943617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=943617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/943617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/943618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=943617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=943617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=943617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}