Connor Hellebuyck's Buffalo Sabres market could set off a much bigger chain reaction.
Jeff Marek raised the possibility on Sekeres & Price, and it goes well beyond just one goaltender changing addresses.
"If Connor Hellebuyck goes, there might be a little sort of a goalie carousel of trades here," Marek said.
He went further with a specific scenario. "I wonder if Alex Lyon ends up with the Devils and it's Jake Allen and Lyon," he added.
The logic tracks. If Buffalo lands Hellebuyck, its current goaltender Alex Lyon suddenly becomes available elsewhere.
New Jersey makes sense as a landing spot too, with Sunny Mehta reportedly familiar with Lyon from his time with the Panthers.
That familiarity matters in a trade built on organizational trust as much as raw numbers.
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A Hellebuyck blockbuster could send another goalie packing
Lyon posted a .906 save percentage across 36 games last season, a strong number for a goaltender who'd be walking into a new situation.
Jake Allen posted a .903 save percentage of his own in 37 games, proof New Jersey isn't desperate here either.
Trading one solid goaltender for another isn't really an upgrade play, it's more of a fit and familiarity swap between two comparable options.
It's the hockey equivalent of a game of musical chairs where every seat is already comfortable. Nobody involved is really losing out here.
Would a trade like this actually move the needle for either goaltender, or is it just a change of scenery dressed up as a hockey move?
Buffalo finished last season 50-23-9, good for fourth overall, exactly the kind of team that would push hard to add a difference-maker in net.
My take: chain-reaction trades like this rarely happen exactly as floated, but the logic behind it is sound enough to take seriously.
Nothing here moves until Hellebuyck actually gets dealt somewhere. But if Buffalo is the answer, this ripple effect looks genuinely plausible.
Would you buy into this Alex Lyon-Jake Allen goalie swap scenario?
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