Connor Hellebuyck
Hellebuyck is New Jersey's No. 1 goalie after his Oct. 23 trade from Winnipeg, but the Devils have only shown a back-to-back split with Jake Allen so far, so his share of starts is not yet settled.
Role
He made his Devils debut Oct. 27 at Dallas, a 5-1 win in which he stopped 17 of 18 shots (NHL.com recap and Devils preview). On the second half of that back-to-back, Allen started at Colorado and Rémi Poirier backed up (Devils preview, Yahoo). The Devils' own preview for the third game of the trip, at Vegas, listed Hellebuyck as the starter. I did not find that game's result or any confirmation of how many starts he will get per week. Allen is the main competitor for starts. ESPN's goalie depth chart (about 11 days old) listed Hellebuyck as starter and Allen as backup. ESPN's Allen blurb expects him to see usage in line with a traditional backup. I did not read Daily Faceoff's live Devils page, so I am not reporting its goalie listing.
Optimists point to his résumé: three Vezina wins and the 2024-25 Hart Trophy. They also point to how little he needed to shake off rust: coach Sheldon Keefe said he looked like he was in midseason form and called his debut exceptional. New Jersey's goaltending was weak before the trade. Allen and Nico Daws combined for an .876 save percentage through the club's first 11 games, per The Sports Leader. The Hockey Writers call Hellebuyck the clear starter and expect him to carry more of the load than Allen.
Skeptics start with the layoff. He did not report to camp, was suspended Sept. 16 and had not played an NHL game since April. They also note his save percentage last season was a career-low .895, according to a Yahoo piece. His first back-to-back brought an unexplained full night off, not even a spot on the bench as backup. Fans and some writers speculated about an injury, while others said that is just how he operates. The team has not given a reason (Yahoo, Community News). The wire note says the absence was not injury related. The Devils are also 8-5-0 with a leaky defensive game that Keefe has been trying to tighten, which could hurt a starter's results.
Where analysts split
The split is over workload: how often Allen starts. The Devils' own coverage and Keefe's remarks suggest back-to-backs will go to Allen. Others expect Hellebuyck, who is used to playing a lot, to take most starts as the clear No. 1. One bit of current evidence, the Allen blurb on ESPN, says Allen is back to backup usage. Nothing I found gives a target number of starts.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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