The New Jersey Devils have acquired goaltender Connor Hellebuyck from the Winnipeg Jets, reuniting him with center Jack Hughes months after the two led Team USA to its first Olympic hockey gold since the 1980 Miracle on Ice.
Hellebuyck stopped 41 of 42 shots in the gold medal game against Canada. Hughes scored the winning goal in overtime.
In exchange for Hellebuyck, the Devils sent center Dawson Mercer, goalie Nico Daws, prospect Alexander Command, forward Nick Bjugstad, a 2029 second-round pick and a 2027 seventh-round pick to Winnipeg.
The move follows a rocky stretch between Hellebuyck and the Jets. In September, the goalie publicly requested a trade out of Winnipeg. The Jets responded by suspending him for failing to report to training camp, a disciplinary measure that continued into the regular season and left him unpaid.
When Devils training camp opened, new general manager Sunny Mehta said he was comfortable with the team’s goaltending setup. Since then, Daws and Jake Allen had combined for an .880 save percentage, 23rd among the NHL’s 32 teams.
Hellebuyck is a three-time Vezina Trophy winner and was named the NHL’s most valuable player for the 2024-25 season. He also started in net for Team USA at the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025.
His career regular-season record stands at 345-208-55, putting him 27th on the NHL’s all-time wins list and fifth among U.S.-born goaltenders. Among American-born goalies with at least 300 career starts, his .916 save percentage ranks fourth and his 2.58 goals-against average ranks sixth.
Hellebuyck joins a growing list of American Olympic stars who have moved from Canadian NHL franchises to American ones this year. In June, the Ottawa Senators traded captain Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers, reuniting him with his brother Matthew. In December, the Vancouver Canucks traded defenseman Quinn Hughes — Jack’s brother and a Team USA teammate who scored the overtime winner against Sweden in the quarterfinals — to the Minnesota Wild. Speculation has persisted that Quinn eventually wants to join his brothers Jack and Luke in New Jersey.
After the gold medal win, Hellebuyck and Hughes attended the State of the Union address, where President Donald Trump announced that Hellebuyck would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
