Connor Hellebuyck is ready to roll.
The newly acquired goaltender will make his starting debut for the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday in Dallas against the Stars, the team announced after the morning skate.
"He's eager to go. He feels like he's ready to go," Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said, per team reporter Amanda Stein.
"This morning's skate was kind of the last little checkpoint for him to make sure he was feeling good, and he's had zero doubts about him being ready.
Hellebuyck, acquired from the Winnipeg Jets last week, suited up in his first practice with his new team on Monday.
"I'm just really excited to play hockey again. That was the hardest part about all of this, wanting to go back and not being able to.
I'm just ready to do what I do best," the goaltender said after that first skate.
Keefe mentioned Monday that the team would"get a sense of how he feels getting through practice and getting on the flight to Dallas."
New Jersey traded for the three-time Vezina Trophy winner from the Jets on Friday for prospect Alexander Command, goalie Nico Daws, forwards Dawson Mercer and Nick Bjugstad, a 2029 second-round pick and a 2027 seventh-round pick.
Despite his high pedigree, Hellebuyck struggled in the 2025-26 season while with the Jets, posting a 23-23-11 record with a 2.86 goals-against average and a career-low .895 save percentage. His last appearance came against the Vegas Golden Knights on April 13, when he allowed six goals on 38 shots in a 6-2 loss.
Hellebuyck spent 11 seasons with the Jets, including a Presidents’ Trophy-winning season in 2024-25, and helped the United States win gold at the Milan Cortina Olympics this year. A fifth-round draft pick in 2012 by Winnipeg, Hellebuyck is fifth on the U.S.-born goaltenders list with 345 career wins.
Among U.S.-born goalies with 300 or more career starts, his .916 save percentage ranks fourth and 2.58 goals-against average ranks sixth.
“Sitting at home for so long was getting to me. For myself, I’m just really excited to play hockey again,” Hellebuyck said Saturday, when he spoke to reporters a day after the trade.
“I’m joining a very skilled group. They brought me for a certain specific role.
I’m really excited to fill that role, not only on the ice but off the ice as well.”
Hellebuyck was skating in Michigan before the trade was completed. He has five seasons left on a seven-year contract with an annual salary cap hit of $8.5 million.
The Devils play a back-to-back against the Stars and Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday and Wednesday, then finish their road trip against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday.
-- With files from the Associated Press