The New Jersey Devils made the largest noise they could on Friday by acquiring future Hall-of-Fame goaltender Connor Hellebuyck from the Winnipeg Jets in a blockbuster deal. While neither team is in the same division as them, the Toronto Maple Leafs could very well be affected by this move.
It was no secret that the Devils needed solid goaltending. Heading into the season with Nico Daws and Jake Allen as your tandem is not a way to be a serious playoff contender. So, they went out and got the best one available and acquired Hellebuyck for a bunch of spare parts. A middle-six winger here, a depth forward there, a former first-round pick but unneeded prospect over there -- no one of real substance was removed from their roster.
It's a great move for New Jersey as they basically get an elite goaltender with little risk of it blowing back up in their face in a major way.
And that might be bad news for our Maple Leafs.
Devils are a real contender to steal playoff spot from Maple Leafs
The goal for the Leafs this season is to make the playoffs. They don't have their head in the clouds dreaming of a Stanley Cup parade down Yonge St. It is having a lofty-but-achievable goal after just drafting first-overall and being one of the worst teams in the entire NHL last season.
Now that Hellebuyck is in New Jersey and the Devils fixed their biggest problem, they seem like a real team who has their eyes on making a whole lot of noise. But how does that affect the Leafs? The Devils might be good enough to finish in one of the top two spots in the Metropolitan Division -- not even something that the Leafs can actually do so it wouldn't really change anything.
But, by the Devils getting better, it moves everyone else down a level and we're now seeing a group of teams in the Metro, like the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers, who are going to be competing for a wild card spot -- and that is exactly how it affects the Leafs.
We don't dream of the Leafs finishing near the top of the Atlantic Division standings. But all we hope for is the playoffs and the more likely ending is Toronto in the battle for a wild card spot, that now just got much more complicated.
The Devils before Hellebuyck weren't really seen as a major threat. They might be on the same level as the Leafs, but then it's just a big soup of mediocre teams and we'll see where they fall. But now the Devils have hypothetically taken a top spot in the conference away for one of them to luck into, and the competition for the wild card has gotten much more tight with fewer spots open.
It's all in theory since there is still a long season ahead, but there's no doubting that the Devils got better.
Could some of this actually benefit the Leafs though?
Finances might force the Leafs to pounce on a Devils defenseman
It's no secret that the Leafs need a defenseman and very, very badly. Especially after the latest batch of injuries, Toronto needs just anyone who is capable of skating backwards at an NHL level to be on their blue line.
The Devils do have veteran and rugged and physical blueliner Brenden Dillon. The 35-year-old left-handed defenseman fits everything the Leafs are looking for. Someone to help stop pucks going in their net, is large enough to be a presence on the ice, but also someone who financially works well.
Toronto can't take on a whole lot of cap hits for next season due to the CBA's tagging rules after they re-signed Kirill Marchenko to his megadeal. Dillon is under contract for just this season -- he's a pending unrestricted free agent -- at a very understandable $4-million AAV. If the Leafs can make that cap hit work under their extremely tight budget -- the Leafs are deep into LTIR to operate under the cap right now -- then he would be such a good asset to target.
The Leafs may end up really suffering because of Hellebuyck coming to the Eastern Conference and making another potential playoff lock. But, if the Devils are in a financial or roster bind, then maybe they can squeeze something that works in their favour.
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