Connor Hellebuyck has finally been traded by the Winnipeg Jets, but Caps fans may not like where the All-Star goalie is landing. The Devils are suddenly much better after addressing their weakest position. Suddenly, a young and dangerous New Jersey squad just became a lot harder to beat. The Capitals, who have struggled to find some consistency, will play the reinforced Devils twice over a three-day period three weeks from now.
The Caps are just two points behind the Devils in the standings with a game in hand. They beat the Devils last week and will face them in a home-and-home series November 12th in Newark and on Saturday November 14th in DC. With Hellebuyck between the pipes, the Devils will be a tougher out.
While the Caps have had some injuries to key players—centers Pierre-Luc Dubois and Justin Sourdif, as well as defenseman Matt Roy—the rest of the players have yet to gel and find a rhythm. Returning veterans, young players, and new additions are still searching for some chemistry and consistency. The lack of consistency, coupled with the injuries, has cost Washington in the win column. While it is still early in the season, the Hellebuyck trade gives the Caps less margin for error. While they have a very good goaltender of their own in Logan Thompson, they will need more than that to keep pace. Luckily, head coach Spencer Carbery will soon have a couple of important players back in the lineup.
Dubois and Roy are returning soon, which means the Caps could be back to full strength as early as tomorrow night at home against the Sabres. Roy is integral to the Caps’ penalty kill and plays a vital role as a right-handed shot on the blueline. The Capitals have depth on the backend and Justin Holl filled in admirably for Roy while he was gone, but the Caps will be better with him back killing penalties.
As for Dubois, the Washington Capitals are simply better with no. 80 in the lineup. They have won over sixty-one percent of their games as opposed to a forty-six percent winning percentage without him. The line of Dubois, Tom Wilson, and former Cap Connor McMichael was the catalyst for the team’s phenomenal 2024-25 regular season, controlling the puck, putting shots on net, and keeping the other teams’ best offensive players pinned in the defensive zone until they were gassed. That led to more shots on goal for Washington, and it paid off. Dubois and Wilson spent a lot of time together and both had career years, ending the season with over 60 points each. (Former Cap Connor McMichael had a career 57 points.)
The Caps are need everyone healthy and on top of their game if they are to make any headway in the Mighty Metro division. A winning streak would fix some of those woes. But by adding Hellebuyck, the Devils addressed their greatest weakness, putting the rest of the division on notice. The road to the playoffs in the Metro might now have to go through Newark, making a deep run in the Stanley Cup playoffs a whole lot tougher for the rest of the division, including the Capitals.
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