The Winnipeg Jets have traded three-time Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck to the New Jersey Devils, ending a two-month standoff that began when the star goaltender asked out in August. Winnipeg receives forwards Dawson Mercer, Alexander Command and Nick Bjugstad, goaltender Nico Daws, and two draft picks, the team announced Friday, October 23, 2026.
What We Know / What We Don’t Know
What we know:
- The Jets announced the trade on Friday, October 23, 2026: Hellebuyck goes to New Jersey; Winnipeg gets Dawson Mercer, Alexander Command, Nick Bjugstad, Nico Daws, New Jersey’s second-round pick in the 2029 NHL Draft, and New Jersey’s seventh-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.
- Hellebuyck, 33, is a three-time Vezina Trophy winner, won the 2024-25 NHL MVP (Hart Trophy), and backstopped Team USA to Olympic gold at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games in February 2026.
- The trade ends a standoff: Hellebuyck requested a trade through his agent on August 27, 2026, skipped training camp, and was suspended by the Jets until October 23, forfeiting $927,835.05 in salary over 24 days, per The Hockey News.
- He is in the third season of a seven-year contract carrying an $8.5 million salary-cap hit, according to NBC Sports.
- One outlet (USA Today’s For The Win) listed New Jersey’s seventh-round pick as a 2028 selection; the official Jets announcement says 2027. This article uses the official team’s version.
What we don’t know:
- When Hellebuyck will make his Devils debut — he has been skating in his home state of Michigan while talks played out, per NBC Sports, but no date has been announced.
- Whether the Devils make another move to balance the roster and salary cap.
- How quickly Mercer, Command, Daws and Bjugstad integrate with Winnipeg’s lineup; Bjugstad is recovering from surgery.
Key Facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Trade announced | Friday, October 23, 2026 |
| Team source | Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club official announcement (nhl.com/jets) |
| Devils receive | G Connor Hellebuyck (33) |
| Jets receive | F Dawson Mercer (24), F Alexander Command (18), F Nick Bjugstad (34), G Nico Daws (25), NJ 2029 2nd-round pick, NJ 2027 7th-round pick |
| Hellebuyck contract | 7 years, $8.5M annual cap hit (season 3 of 7) |
| Suspension forfeited | $927,835.05 over 24 days |
| Hellebuyck’s next game vs. Winnipeg | November 10, when the Devils visit the Jets |
Background: How the Standoff Started
Connor Hellebuyck’s time in Winnipeg was supposed to be settled — he signed a seven-year contract extension, won his third Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goaltender, added a Hart Trophy as league MVP in 2024-25, and then won Olympic gold as the starter for Team USA at Milan-Cortina in February 2026. Instead, it ended with a suspension and a blockbuster trade.
The fracture became public on August 27, 2026, when Hellebuyck’s agent, Ray Petkau, released a statement saying the goaltender had asked privately for a trade months earlier and still believed that was the right path, per The Hockey News. A June attempt to move the three-time Vezina winner fell through, and by the time training camp opened, Hellebuyck didn’t report.
Winnipeg responded by suspending him, using provisions in the collective bargaining agreement, through October 23 — a suspension that cost him $927,835.05 in salary across 24 days, according to The Hockey News. In early October, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Hellebuyck had told the Jets he was prepared to rejoin the team as the regular season got underway and players began receiving paycheques. The standoff, which required involvement from the league and the Players’ Association, continued until the trade.
On Friday, it ended. The Jets announced they had acquired Mercer, Command, Bjugstad, Daws and two draft picks from New Jersey in exchange for Hellebuyck.
Who Winnipeg Gets Back
The centerpiece of Winnipeg’s return, at least in terms of NHL-ready talent, is Dawson Mercer. The 24-year-old center has played 10 games for New Jersey this season with four assists, per the Jets’ announcement. The Carbonear, Newfoundland native was the Devils’ first-round pick (18th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft and has appeared in 420 career NHL games over six seasons, recording 213 points (103 goals, 110 assists) and 120 penalty minutes. Mercer has averaged about 20 goals across his five full seasons, per The Hockey News, and has skated in 17 career playoff games with nine points (5G, 4A). He also represented Canada internationally, winning gold at the 2020 World Junior Championships and silver medals at the 2021 World Juniors and 2022 World Championships.
Alexander Command, 18, is the prospect prize. He was New Jersey’s first-round pick (12th overall) in the 2026 NHL Draft — just a few months before being moved. The Stockholm, Sweden native has played six games for Orebro HK in the Swedish Hockey League this season, plus six games for Orebro’s junior team, where he has posted 12 points (7G, 5A) and 10 PIMs, according to the Jets. Command won gold with Sweden at the 2026 World U-18 Championships, tallying seven points (3G, 4A) in seven games. The Hockey News notes he has been far more productive at the junior level, with 29 goals and 35 assists in 43 games over three seasons with Orebro’s U20 squad.
Nick Bjugstad, 34, brings 821 career NHL games across eight teams, with 339 points (163G, 176A) and 377 penalty minutes, per the Jets’ announcement. He is currently recovering from surgery. The Blaine, Minnesota native played 61 games for New Jersey and St. Louis last season, recording nine points (6G, 3A), and was Florida’s first-round pick (19th overall) in the 2010 NHL Draft. He has represented the United States internationally, winning bronze at the 2011 World Juniors and 2013 World Championships. Bjugstad is on LTIR, per The Hockey News.
Nico Daws, 25, is the depth goaltender heading to Winnipeg. The Munich, Germany native has played four games for the Devils this season with a 2-2-0 record, 2.78 goals-against average and .874 save percentage, according to the Jets. He was New Jersey’s third-round pick (84th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft and has compiled a 26-26-1 record in 59 career NHL games with a shutout, a 2.94 GAA and .897 save percentage. Daws was Mercer’s teammate on the Canadian squad that won gold at the 2020 World Juniors.
Winnipeg also gets New Jersey’s second-round pick in the 2029 NHL Draft and seventh-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft, per the official announcement. (Note: USA Today’s For The Win initially listed the seventh-rounder as a 2028 pick; the Jets’ official release says 2027, and this article follows the official release.)
Why It Matters
For New Jersey, the logic is simple. The Devils have built one of the NHL’s most exciting young rosters — Jack Hughes, who scored the overtime winner of the Olympic final against Canada, headlines a core with serious young talent, per The Hockey News. The missing piece was elite goaltending. New Jersey’s goaltending situation: new Devils general manager Sunny Mehta said at training camp he was comfortable with the team’s goaltending, but Jake Allen and Nico Daws have since combined for an .880 save percentage, ranking 23rd among 32 teams, per NBC Sports. Adding the reigning MVP-caliber goaltender instantly moves New Jersey “closer to being a Stanley Cup contender,” as NBC Sports put it.
For Winnipeg, the deal is about turning a distraction into a haul. As For The Win’s analysis noted, the Jets appeared to have limited leverage with a disgruntled star who had publicly asked out — but they “held out and got a really nice return.” The Jets get an established middle-six center in Mercer, a top-12 draft talent in Command, NHL depth in Bjugstad, a young goaltender in Daws, and two futures. They also move on from a saga that “swirled around this offseason and at the start of a solid season for Winnipeg,” in For The Win’s words.
For fans, there’s a date to circle: Hellebuyck returns to Winnipeg on November 10, when the Devils visit the Jets, per The Hockey News. After 11 seasons as the greatest goaltender in Jets franchise history, he’ll face his old team for the first time in a new uniform.
The Grades
Early verdicts favor the Jets’ negotiating more than the Devils’ gamble. USA Today’s For The Win gave the Devils a B+ — “this is the kind of deal you make if you’re trying to take that next step” — and the Jets an A-, calling it a “solid job all around for a team that needed to deal its star goalie.” The Hockey News called the deal “a seismic shift for both franchises’ postseason aspirations.”
What Happens Next
The immediate questions: when does Hellebuyck debut for New Jersey, how do the Devils adjust their salary cap around an $8.5 million cap hit, and how does Winnipeg’s locker room respond to a trade that subtracts an 11-year franchise cornerstone but adds four NHL players and two picks. For now, one of the NHL’s longest-running dramas is over — and the league’s balance of power just shifted east.
Read our report on another October 23 front-office shake-up: Indiana Fever President Kelly Krauskopf Steps Down After Nearly 30 Years.
Primary sources:
- Winnipeg Jets official announcement: Jets acquire Mercer, Command and more from Devils (https://www.nhl.com/jets/news/jets-acquire-mercer-command-and-more-from-devils) — team release, October 23, 2026
Secondary sources:
- The Hockey News: Report: Jets Trade Superstar Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck to New Jersey Devils (https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/winnipeg-jets/latest-news/report-jets-trade-superstar-goaltender-connor-hellebuyck-to-new-jersey-devils) — full trade details and background on the standoff, October 23, 2026
- NBC Sports: Devils acquire U.S. Olympic goalie Connor Hellebuyck in a trade with the Jets (https://www.nbcsports.com/nhl/news/devils-acquire-u-s-olympic-goalie-connor-hellebuyck-in-a-trade-with-the-jets) — context on Devils goaltending, October 23, 2026
- USA Today For The Win: Connor Hellebuyck trade grades (https://ftw.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2026/10/23/connor-hellebuyck-trade-grades-devils-jets/92395254007/) — trade grades, October 23, 2026
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