Which team missed out on Connor Hellebuyck the most?

While the New Jersey Devils are feeling fat and happy with their recent transaction, what about the teams that came up short in acquiring Connor Hellebuyck?

The Devils seemingly came out of nowhere to snag the three-time Vezina Trophy winner from the Winnipeg Jets, trading forwards Nick Bjugstad, Dawson Mercer and Alexander Command, goaltender Nico Daws, and a second-round pick in 2029 and a seventh-rounder in 2027 to Winnipeg.

There were several teams vying for Hellebuyck, as any playoff contender would love to have the talents of a Hart Trophy winner between the pipes. Now that they missed out, which teams are going to hurt the most without Hellebuyck coming into the fold? While there are many excellent goaltenders across the league, many of which are more than capable of getting their team to the postseason, few have the ability and pedigree that Hellebuyck possesses (even though he hasn’t done much in the playoffs, himself). Nevertheless, a couple of quality and rising clubs are going to feel empty as they go through the season with what they have now, rather than Hellebuyck in net.

On Friday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Jeff Marek lists which teams are going to feel the aftereffects of not getting Hellebuyck from Winnipeg.

Jeff Marek: Utah fits so perfectly. Like, [Karel] Vejmelka last night, tough one. He was hard to hit. I think that Utah’s right there and ready to take that next step. But then I catch myself, and I say, ‘Would Winnipeg really trade within the division for something as significant as a goaltender, and would there have to be a Central Division tax on any deal that you do within the division? I.e., here’s the price for Buffalo, here’s the price for Carolina, here’s the price for New Jersey, but in our division? There’s some juice on top, too.’

You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…