Jets get ‘relief’ with Hellebuyck trade, begin new era at Heritage Classic

WINNIPEG -- A new era of Winnipeg Jets hockey starts Sunday on the biggest stage possible.

They will play the Montreal Canadiens in the 2026 Tim Hortons Heritage Classic at Princess Auto Stadium (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, TNT, truTV, HBO MAX) without goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who was traded to the New Jersey Devils on Friday for forwards Dawson Mercer and Nick Bjugstad, goalie Nico Daws, prospect Alexander Command and two draft picks.

After refusing to report to training camp following an offseason trade request that became public on Aug. 27, Hellebuyck had been suspended by the Jets. 

The trade ended four months of soap opera. It was a topic that dominated conversations in Winnipeg and hounded the players wherever they went.

“I think relief, just having clarity on the situation,” Jets captain Adam Lowry said. “There has been a cloud hanging over our heads. We’ve said all along, ‘Helle’ is a good friend of ours. To see the situation resolved, to see him back playing and going to an organization he wanted to go to and to get back the pieces we got back … it’s nice that we can look forward and don’t have to keep talking about it.”

Now that the talking is finished, the Jets are better for it, they say.

“There was lots of noise, lots of distractions, but we didn't let it come in the room and they stayed focused on what their job was and now it's time to turn the page,” Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel said. “We welcome all the guys that we got from New Jersey and we are excited to have them, excited to get going, and and moving forward.”

That starts in a tentpole game on national television across North America.

“I think you know we're all so excited to play in this game,” veteran forward Mark Scheifele said. “It’s such a fantastic city to be a part of, especially for an outdoor game. Honestly, it's going to be fun.

“We're all very excited to get going. Busy last couple of days, but you know once it gets to game time, then you know then the fun starts.”

Nobody has been busier than Mercer.

The forward was at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey early Friday when he was informed of the trade. He raced home, packed and met Daws at the airport. They flew to Winnipeg, landing a little before midnight.

“Come here and come into a big game, the Heritage Classic,” he said after his first practice with the team. “I’d rather do it this way than any other way.

“It’s just going out there and having fun. It usually happens when you are switching teams you get the jitters and this is going to add to it.”

Mercer, a two-way forward, will be in the lineup for the game. Daws will likely be scratched because the Jets have two NHL goalies with Stuart Skinner and Clay Stevenson. Bjugstad has not played this season after undergoing surgery for an offseason upper-body injury and is expected to be out until at least January.

Mercer will play on a line with Lowry to start the game and will be featured on the penalty kill. He did some video work with the assistant coaches Saturday before practice to get up to speed.

Mercer did not score a goal in 10 games with New Jersey this season but has averaged 20 per season (103 in his first 420 NHL games) since joining the League in 2021-22.  

The trade finally allowed the Jets to put the Hellebuyck saga to bed. The players had started to chafe at the questions and the uncertainty during Hellebuyck’s absence.

That uncomfortableness no longer exists.

Hellebuyck is now in New Jersey. It’s unclear when he will start playing, but there is a good chance he will be playing by Nov. 10, when the Devils roll into town.

Lowry joked that the Jets will have a reprieve on Hellebuyck questions until then, but then he turned serious.

“He was a great teammate and he gave us a chance to win every night and that is an important thing to remember and that is how I will remember him,” he said.

Scheifele also stressed the positives.

Hellebuyck was a fixture in Winnipeg for the past 10 seasons. He was part of the core of this team. He developed himself into one of the game’s best goalies, playing to a .916 save percentage across 625 regular-season games.

The 33-year-old has won the Vezina Trophy as the League’s best goalie three times and won the Hart Trophy as the League’s most valuable player after the 2024-25 season when he won 47 games and had a .925 save percentage.

Those are the things his teammates should remember now, Scheifele said, not the drama.

“That was one of the best goalies in the world, three Vezinas, a Hart Trophy, a goalie that got us to some places and gave us memories that I'll remember forever,” Scheifele said. “You try to take the positive out of anything and I’ll only remember the positives from him.”

But it is time to turn the page and it starts Sunday.

The Jets players have a team they believe in and they want to show the rest of the hockey world in the game against the Canadiens.

“You want to get out and play a great game and show that it was a mutually beneficial trade for both teams,” Lowry said. “You want to use the new blood and juice to get off to a fast start.”