A non-stop flight between Winnipeg and Newark, if any airline offered one, would likely just clip the top of Minnesota, flying over perhaps the tip of the Arrowhead. On Friday, a prominent Jet made that trek, and the impact in the State of Hockey could be more notable than a fly-over.

On Friday, goalie Connor Hellebuyck got his wish and is being shipped to New Jersey, where he will join a Devils team featuring brothers Jack and Luke Hughes.

The third Hughes brother, Quinn, is currently the best defenseman on the Wild roster, and perhaps on any NHL team’s roster. The Wild desperately want to extend the contract of their pending free agent, and you have to wonder if that just got more difficult.

Headed to Winnipeg is a return package that includes bottom six winger Dawson Mercer, goalie Nico Daws, former Gophers and Wild forward Nick Bjugstad, offensive prospect Alexander Command — currently playing in his native Sweden after the Devils picked him 12th overall last summer — and a pair of draft picks.

After leading Winnipeg to the Presidents Trophy in 2025 and becoming an American Olympic hero in 2026, Hellebuyck quietly made it known to the Jets brass last summer that he wanted out of a contract that runs through 2031. In September, Hellebuyck went public with his trade request and held out of training camp.

That got him suspended by the team and cost him nearly $1 million in salary. The suspension was set to expire on Friday.

As to how this all might affect hockey in Minnesota, where hopes for a Wild run to the Stanley Cup have perhaps never been higher, there’s good news and bad news.

The good news is Hellebuyck is out of the Central Division, where is has gone 17-10-3 in 33 appearances against Minnesota. That includes a 4-1, first-round playoffs series win in 2018.

The bad news? The Devils might be loading up to make New Jersey a more attractive landing spot for pending free-agent Quinn Hughes, who has made no secret of the fact that he would like to play with his brothers Jack and Luke someday.

Until he becomes a free agent on July 1, the Wild have exclusive rights to negotiate a contract extension with their blue line leader, who last season set a franchise record for points by a defenseman (5-48—53) despite not joining the team until December.

Wild general manager Bill Guerin says he wants to get Hughes extended. So does team owner Craig Leipold.

Some speculate that Hughes wants to see if he can win a Stanley Cup in Minnesota before signing on for longer. Others expected him to sign a two- or three-year extension before training camp. Once there, he blithely told reporters there was no reason for him to sign a deal quickly.

“These things take time,” he said.

The Devils just made a big investment in Hellebuyck. Would a demonstrable commitment to building a winner in New Jersey lead to Hughes playing out the season for the opportunity to negotiate a deal to join his brothers there for 2027-28 and beyond?

That almost certainly would lead the Wild to explore moving Hughes before the March 1 trade deadline to get some long-term return on a trade that sent three players and a first-round draft pick to Vancouver.

After a loss to the Jets on Oct. 13 in Winnipeg, the Wild will face them three more times in the regular season. Minnesota will potentially have to face Hellebuyck just twice — Feb. 28 in St. Paul and March 31 in Newark — and likely not in the postseason.

That’s good, of course. So is, perhaps, the bar now set for quality goaltending. If and when Filip Gustavsson (hip) returns from injured reserve, the Wild will have three NHL-caliber goaltenders with starter Jesper Wallstedt and current backup Calvin Pickard.

Two goalies is company, and three is a crowd, so if Guerin wants to trade a goalie once he has a trio at his disposal, the haul that Winnipeg got for Hellebuyck is a positive sign for Minnesota.

That’s for the future, though. For now, the Quinn Hughes negotiations — whatever that might currently mean just — got a little more interesting.