Jim Biringer on Connor Hellebuyck trade to New Jersey Devils

Jim Biringer on Connor Hellebuyck trade to New Jersey Devils: the Full Press Hockey writer told John Carlo Alino on The Game Plan that New Jersey had pursued the goalie for three years, that he may need a conditioning stint before playing, and that the club could still seek upgrades involving Quinn Hughes or Dylan Larkin.

Why did Jim Biringer expect the Connor Hellebuyck trade to the New Jersey Devils?

Jim Biringer was not surprised that the Winnipeg Jets traded Connor Hellebuyck to the New Jersey Devils or that a deal took time. He said Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has a history of waiting for a return he believes will help his team, while New Jersey had been trying to acquire the goalie for three years.

New Jersey’s three-year pursuit

Biringer traced the Devils’ interest to 2023, when they needed a goaltender and reached out to Winnipeg. That attempt did not produce a deal. New Jersey was involved again after the draft and around free agency, he said, but could not make the pieces work. In Biringer’s view, no-movement clauses on the Devils’ roster complicated those talks.

On Winnipeg’s side, he pointed to Cheveldayoff’s handling of Jacob Trouba, Patrik Laine and Pierre-Luc Dubois as examples of the general manager’s patience. Biringer said the parties tried to keep Hellebuyck’s April trade request quiet before the goalie publicly asked to leave and made clear he would not report to training camp.

What Biringer made of Winnipeg’s return

Biringer described the Jets’ return as including a center, a young goalie, a prospect and draft picks. He was surprised Winnipeg did not receive a first-round pick, but thought the approaching deadline to complete the deal gave both sides a reason to finish it rather than carry negotiations into the following week.

What did Jim Biringer say about Connor Hellebuyck’s start with the New Jersey Devils?

Biringer expects Devils fans to welcome Hellebuyck but says they should give him several games before judging the trade. Because the goalie had not played a game since April, Biringer raised the possibility of an American Hockey League conditioning stint to help him return to game speed before joining New Jersey’s rotation.

Nico Daws and the trade package

Biringer acknowledged that losing familiar players would be difficult for some fans. He said people he spoke with after the deal told him Nico Daws had received extra starts partly as a showcase while the Jets scouted New Jersey. That made Daws’s inclusion in the package less surprising to him, even if it remained a loss for the Devils.

Getting Hellebuyck ready for games

The immediate question, Biringer said, is how to work Hellebuyck into an NHL season with limited practice time. He noted that the goalie had been practicing in Michigan, but considered live game action different from practices and warm-up shots. Biringer put the concern plainly:

He can't just come in cold.

Biringer did not expect Hellebuyck to play that weekend. He said the Devils would need to discuss the best route with him, potentially including a conditioning stint, while Jake Allen and Remy Poirier handled the immediate rotation. He also identified a November 10 return to Winnipeg as a date to watch, without suggesting Hellebuyck was certain to be ready for it.

What are Jim Biringer’s New Jersey Devils trade deadline plans?

Biringer expects the Devils to look for further roster upgrades now that they have addressed goaltending, but he does not treat a move for both Quinn Hughes and Dylan Larkin as straightforward. New Jersey still has assets, he said; the harder questions are what each acquisition would cost and how the club would fit the salaries together.

He sees Hellebuyck as the goaltender who could help a talented Devils roster take another step. Biringer said New Jersey had not truly resolved its goaltending issue over the previous couple of years, even allowing for injuries elsewhere on the team. That is why he expects the club to consider additional moves rather than regard this trade as the end of its work.

Quinn Hughes and Dylan Larkin

Biringer called acquiring one of Hughes or Larkin more likely than acquiring both. He connected speculation about the players to Jack Hughes and the relationships among them, but presented a larger reunion in New Jersey as a possibility, not a settled plan. He also stressed that the Devils would have to make the financial math work rather than assemble a roster as though salary limits did not apply.

Larkin’s reported interest in New Jersey was one reason Biringer considered the idea worth watching. He also wondered whether Quinn Hughes might eventually want to play with his brothers. Those connections, he said, do not remove the need for assets, salary space and decisions by the players and their current teams.

Which New Jersey Devils players would Jim Biringer keep or consider moving?

Biringer would keep Arseni Gritsyuk, whose progress and play alongside Jack Hughes have impressed him. He also pushed back on the suggestion that Nico Hischier should be expendable. If New Jersey pursues major additions, Biringer expects it to examine other contracts because incoming salary would have to be offset somewhere on the roster.

He noted that the Devils had signed Gritsyuk to a new deal despite interest from other teams and described him as part of the club’s future. On Hischier, Biringer pointed to his recent extension and trade protection as reasons he did not expect New Jersey to move him.

Biringer instead mentioned Dougie Hamilton, Brendan Dillon and Timo Meier when discussing salaries the team might have to consider. He did not say any one of them would be traded. His point was that pursuing expensive players would require hard choices, even with a rising salary cap. In his view, a roster built around several major additions might also depend on players accepting less money than they otherwise could seek.

Which Western Conference teams does Jim Biringer see under Stanley Cup pressure?

Biringer identified Utah, Edmonton, Minnesota, Dallas and Colorado as Western Conference teams facing pressure to pursue a Stanley Cup. Utah’s interest in prominent players suggested ambition to him, while Edmonton’s urgency centers on Connor McDavid. He viewed Minnesota’s place in that group partly through the possibility of keeping Quinn Hughes and adding Larkin.

Utah and Edmonton

Biringer said Utah had shown interest in Hellebuyck and Larkin and credited Bill Armstrong with trying to be involved in major opportunities. He cautioned that pursuing a player is not the same as landing one: Utah still has to persuade players to join the team.

For Edmonton, he pointed to McDavid’s coming extension eligibility and his play at the time of the conversation. Biringer cited 31 points in 10 games as evidence of the level McDavid had reached, making the Oilers’ push to win especially pressing in his view.

Minnesota, Dallas, Colorado and Montreal

Biringer also placed Dallas and Colorado among the West’s teams with a win-now outlook. Minnesota, he said, would send a similar signal if it retained Quinn Hughes and added Larkin. He contrasted that pressure with Montreal in the East: he considered the Canadiens’ window open, but did not yet put them in the same cup-or-bust category. Biringer felt Montreal may have missed a chance to add players during a favorable stretch, while acknowledging that its opportunity to contend had not closed.

Who is Jim Biringer?

Jim Biringer is a sports talk host, writer and reporter who covers the National Hockey League and College Football. His appearances include Sirius XM NHL Network Radio, TSN, The Green Zone and Sportnet. He writes for Full Press Hockey and says his interest in sports goes back to pro wrestling.