Report: Devils have had conversation with Jets about Hellebuyck
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The New Jersey Devils have had a "conversation" with the Winnipeg Jets about goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported on Tuesday's edition of "Insider Trading." Hellebuyck has one season left on his deal and is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2024. The 30-year-old's eligible to sign an extension with the Jets on July 1.However, Hellebuyck said in April that he's feeling like he's running "out of time" to win a Stanley Cup after the Jets' 2022-23 season ended. He reportedly informed the team recently that he isn't interested in re-upping in Winnipeg.As a result, the Vezina Trophy finalist is largely considered a top trade candidate this summer.Hellebuyck will be due a substantial raise from his current $6.16-million cap hit. LeBrun said he believes Hellebuyck's camp is targeting a figure similar to Andrei Vasilevskiy's deal, which carries a $9.5-million price tag.The Devils have around $26.4 million in projected cap space this summer but have 11 free agents on their active roster to contend with. Topping that list is pending restricted free-agent forward Timo Meier, who's currently working toward a long-term extension with general manager Tom Fitzgerald.Three goalies saw time in the crease for New Jersey this season: Vitek Vanecek, Akira Schmid, and Mackenzie Blackwood.Vanecek posted a 33-11-4 regular-season record with a .911 save percentage and 2.45 goals against average, but he struggled in the playoffs. The 27-year-old has two years remaining on his deal with a $3.4-million cap hit.Schmid got into 18 contests during the regular season and put up some strong numbers. He shone in the playoffs, posting a .921 save percentage and 2.35 goals against average in nine showings. The 23-year-old can become a restricted free agent next summer.A pending restricted free agent, Blackwood has battled injuries the past few campaigns and posted a sub-.900 save percentage for the second straight year this season. Hellebuyck was again stellar for the lackluster Jets this campaign, registering a .920 clip over 64 showings while saving 30.11 goals above average and 33.62 goals above expected at all strengths, per Evolving Hockey.He won the Vezina Trophy in 2020 and has been nominated for the hardware three times.

Seems Hellebuyck’s camp is talking with Fitz about the possibility of coming to NJ. Not sure we’d want to risk the future with the kind of cap hit he’d demand. I think we still have a solid future with VV and Schmid. Thoughts?

    • @DreetionOPEnglish
      2•2 years ago

      Yeah and if he’s truly demanding Vasy numbers for a contract we’d have hard time signing our other guys. Especially because we’re about to pay Timo. I think Scmid’s ceiling is really good and he could be the future #1.

      • @NicoTimoNemoEnglish
        3•2 years ago

        The issue isn’t this season. It’s the future we have to worry about. Dawson, Luke, Simon will likely earn big contracts.

        • @DreetionOPEnglish
          2•2 years ago

          Fitz has shown he knows what he’s doing building out this team in a smart way so I’m not worried he’ll hedge the future on a bad Hellebuyck contract. I can’t wait until Nemec gets into the league. The future is bright and I can’t wait.

  • @ericjmoreyEnglish
    3•2 years ago

    Devils demand a Cup Contender discount.

    • @DreetionOPEnglish
      2•2 years ago

      Seems like we might get that with Timo

  • @PastaTreesMEnglish
    2•2 years ago

    Helle has said many times his priority is to win a cup, how much is he willing to take off his clearly deserved payday to fit into our cap situation? It feels nice knowing that Fitz isn’t going to do something ridiculous or stupid to get vezina quality goaltending, and also the chance where he could pull something amazing and get him cheap.

    I’m interested to see how this plays out but I won’t be bummed if we let this opportunity pass