As soon as the Stanley Cup Playoffs came to an end, the New Jersey Devils discourse has been pushing for Tom Fitzgerald to trade for Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck. It has been reported that he doesn’t want to sign an extension with the organization. He is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2024 and might see a pay increase. He won the Vezina Trophy in 2020 and could help the Devils’ goaltending problems.
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16 Comments
Devils, stay away from the Hellebuyck trade package! Schmid will be good for us!! Get the defense sorted!
I don't believe Hellebuyck is an option for the Devils. Sure he would be a good fit but the cost is the problem. The Jets are going to be asking the world for him. They are going to be asking for a first round pick, a top pick NHL ready player and probably a younger position player. Then there will be the money needed to keep him. The price is going to be too high. That said in a perfect world I would love to see him here? Sure but I think they need to work with what they have. Vanecek got them to the playoffs this year. It was his best season and there is nothing that says he won't continue to get better. or at worse maintain. Then there is Schmid, he is just starting his career and his potential is yet to be seen.
Hope not. Too expensive.
Go after Gibson
No! Hel no. I was just looking at the numbers yesterday. In 52 games (48 started) started V has 33 wins 11 losses and 4 overtime last regular season. .911 save% and during the Devils' historic win streak he was responsible for 9 of those 13 wins.
We need to keep V and Akira and work on developing them and the defense. I know people say V let us down in the playoffs but it was his first time in NJ and only his third season in the NHL. Give him some time! All the young guys need a chance to build their skills and confidence. Nobody is going to be Marty. I'm a big fan of V and Akria I think they'll be a great pair for us. V needs to build his confidence and get out of his own head sometimes but I think that will come with the team trusting each other.
Yeah Hellebuyck had more wins etc last season but he played 12 more games and even then only had 5 more wins than V. He's not blowing me out if the water with that. Sure Hellebuyck is more experienced but we don't wanna be the Sharks and be quick to trade for someone else and regret it when they're partying in Vegas.🎉
Yeah you are on point here, or at least I agree with you 100%.
We need a goalie if we want to push for finals and cups. Let's not forget that when NJD played poorly, Schmid did not steal games like Bobrovsky.
It all comes down to Hellebuyck wants t sign next year. if he wants his last bag, 6-8 year deal, it's gonna a problem for the devils. That's not a deal you want on a young team that just starts to compete. He can start to decline in 4-5 years and you end up with something like 8 mil contract for next 2-4 years that will just sit there and do nothing.
That's something you do when you want a last big push with your aging core (liek pittsburg) before a rebuild. Than you can live with a bad contract, because you kinda want to be bad anyway.
We are just exiting a long rebuild. We can't take this on. If we can acquire an elite goalie outside of the org, at this age (30), it would need to be for 3-4 years max and hope somebody liek Akira or Daws develop into an elite goalie that can play for us long term.
I would also not throw Vitek under the bus yet. It was his 1st year as a starter, goalies take longer to become elite. We'll see
The Athletic seems to me like they only watched playoffs highlights not full series and definitely not full regular season games. The noise I've been hearing about is needing a goalie is coming from a lot of media people who don't know our group or anything about what we're building. They should not be taken with any reliability.
I also disagree with your analysis of the defense goaltending relationship. If you look at Carolina's history of goalies their numbers have always gone up when they play with that team and seem to tank when they're traded. It's because the team in front made goal tending easier. So no you can't have a horrible defense and do well with an amazing goal tender. Not even if you could time travel and get prime of his career Martin Brodeur!
No we do not need an aging head case.
Schmid is our Hellebuyck in the making
I love how fans want to get rid of Vanecek because he sucked in the playoffs but want to replace him with another goalie who sucked in the playoffs.
Thanks for your continued efforts Trey!
Do the new thing : Get three goalies, split the season between them (all of them should be playing minimum 20 games) and ride the hot hand in the playoff. Don't spend 8 millions on a goalie which we can't afford anyway with Meier and Bratt being RFA.
No, Adin Hill of all people was the Stanley Cup-winning goalie, the position's just too unpredictable. Besides, it's not like he took the VGK to Game 7 of the opening round and it'd take a king's ransom to get him and pay him once he got here.
You need to find the next Hellebuyck, not chuck $9M at the current version of Connor Hellebuyck.
Schmid and Vanecek are serviceable enough goalies. The Devils need to play better in front of them. Do what Carolina does. They don't spend much on goaltending, but they always make them look pretty good.
Nah on Hellebuyck. Too risky to throw all that money to one person. Better to spend money on skaters. Just develop a good stable of goaltenders. The cream will eventually rise to the top. Anyway, it's not as much about goaltending as it is about overall team defense of which a goalie is just one element. Make sure to build a good system with the right players working together for defense. Brodeur and the players that played in front of him worked together within the system to be the defensively dominant team of our Cup winning era.