Hellebuyck cost the Devils $1.65 million in cap. The term is the price

New Jersey just purchased elite goaltending insurance for almost nothing against this season's cap. The bill comes later, and it comes as term, not cap space.

The number: $1.65 million. That's how much the Devils' cap hit went up in the Connor Hellebuyck trade, by my math from the contracts that moved. His $8.5 million comes in. Dawson Mercer's $4 million, Nick Bjugstad's $1.75 million and Nico Daws' $1.1 million go out, which adds up to $6.85 million.

For a three-time Vezina winner, that's the most affordable he'll ever be for this organization.

Why New Jersey had to do it

The Devils are a good team that was getting below-average goaltending. Jake Allen has a .883 save percentage in six starts and Daws is at .872 in four, per NHL data. The league as a whole is stopping .892 this season, by our count. Small sample, ten games, but both numbers point in the same unflattering direction.

Meanwhile New Jersey has controlled nearly 60% of the shots at five-on-five and still sat in the second wild-card spot entering Friday. When a team consistently wins the territorial battle and loses the goaltending matchup, a goaltender is the single acquisition that corrects the most at once.

Where the real cost is

Hellebuyck is 33. His deal pays $8.5 million a year through 2030-31, four more seasons after this one. That's 8.2% of this season's $104 million ceiling.

That percentage shrinks every year the ceiling rises, which is the best argument for the contract. The worst argument is the age curve: he'll be 38 when the contract expires, and nobody can guarantee what those final seasons look like.

His full no-move clause runs through next July. After that it becomes a 10-team approved list, so the Devils will have some flexibility if this goes sideways in 2029. My verdict: the AAV is fair, the term is the risk, and New Jersey should take that risk for a team this good.

Winnipeg's side

The Jets received legitimate value for a player who publicly engineered his own departure. Mercer is 24, carries a $4 million cap hit and is a restricted free agent in July. Daws is signed through 2027-28 at $1.1 million.

Bjugstad's $1.75 million expires this summer, and he's on long-term injured reserve after pectoral surgery. Stuart Skinner keeps the crease, with a .911 save percentage in seven starts, per NHL data.

Hellebuyck forfeited just under $930,000 of salary during his three-week disciplinary suspension. That money isn't returning to anybody's cap calculation.

Cap sheet — New Jersey: in, Hellebuyck at $8.5 million through 2030-31. Out, $6.85 million across three contracts. Net cap hit up $1.65 million, by my math. Bjugstad's LTIR hit leaves with him.

Cap sheet — Winnipeg: out, $8.5 million through 2030-31. In, Mercer ($4 million, RFA in July), Daws ($1.1 million through 2027-28) and Bjugstad ($1.75 million, expiring, on LTIR). Net cap hit down $1.65 million this season, with far less long-term money committed.

Prospect watch (Tommy Kessler): Alexander Command, 18, a Stockholm center the Devils took 12th overall in June. He's at Örebro in the Swedish Elite League, with no points in six games. Winnipeg had him high on its board before taking Viggo Bjorck eighth.

Add a 2029 second-round pick and a 2027 seventh, and the Jets bought themselves a real piece of the rebuild.

What I'd watch: Mercer's qualifying offer and his price in July. Winnipeg just traded for a 24-year-old forward one season from a raise, and that number decides whether this trade ages well for the Jets.