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Greg Wyshynski
Multiple Authors
The Winnipeg Jets wanted closure on Connor Hellebuyck and feel the New Jersey Devils are refusing to give it to them.
Hellebuyck was expected to get the start in Winnipeg on Tuesday night, facing the Jets for the first time since his trade demand was granted on Oct. 23, when he waived his no-movement clause to join the Devils. But after Hellebuyck’s 4-0 shutout win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday, Devils general manager Sunny Mehta announced an “organizational decision” that Hellebuyck would not start on Tuesday night.
“Connor Hellebuyck was adamant that he felt a duty to play on Tuesday in Winnipeg. However, in our estimation, playing in this game would potentially give us a reduction in our expected win probability,” he said in a press release, adding that Hellebuyck will meet the media in Winnipeg on Tuesday.
A former NHL MVP and three-time Vezina Trophy winner, Hellebuyck was suspended by the Jets after failing to report to training camp following his trade request. He played 11 seasons in Winnipeg.
Jets coach Scott Arniel on Monday expressed his disappointment in the Devils’ decision — and its justification.
“I’ve seen a lot of analytics in my life. I’m not sure how this works into the analytics part of it,” he said. “I know it’s their decision. They can do whatever they want. But that would put closure to it. This doesn’t.”
Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said that the plan was for Hellebuyck to play both games in a home-and-home series against the division rival Washington Capitals after the Winnipeg game, while citing the fact that Hellebuyck missed all of training camp and nearly the first month of the season.
But even with that explanation, Jets players were stunned Hellebuyck wasn’t getting the net against them.
“To be honest, I didn’t even think that was a possibility. I thought he was playing for sure,” said winger Kyle Connor, who won a gold medal with Hellebuyck on Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics. “I think we all hoped that he was playing.”
Jets captain Adam Lowry, who like Connor was a longtime teammate with Hellebuyck, said there was disappointment among Winnipeg players about the decision, as the Devils are expected to start Jake Allen on Tuesday.
“I would have loved to play against him. We’d all be lying if we said we weren’t looking forward to the opportunity,” said Lowry. “He’s a good friend of ours. It’s always fun to go up against buddies or ex-teammates. You always want to best them. The atmosphere would have been great. It would have been an emotional night and a lot of fun.”
While the fans are still expected to bring the venom for Hellebuyck despite him not playing — as NHL fans have already seen this season when Brady Tkachuk returned to Ottawa and Quinn Hughes returned to Minnesota Wild after contentious exits — Lowry said the players aren’t lamenting that lack of catharsis.
“From a player’s standpoint, I don’t feel like I’ve been robbed of anything. Obviously, there was a big buildup for the fans to either thank him or voice their displeasure, whatever that may be. They’ll just have to wait a little longer,” he said.
But Arniel wasn’t happy that the Hellebuyck drama will stretch beyond Tuesday night.
“To me, it goes back to the ownership and the fans and the core players that have been with Helly since the very beginning, [the ones] that he left on,” he said. “That’s the part for me that’s hard. He gave up on us. It would be nice to finally be done with this. All this does is drag this out and talk about it again,”
The Jets visit New Jersey on Saturday, Nov. 28. Hellebuyck is 5-0-0 since joining the Devils with a 1.96 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage.
“I can feel the frustration of the fans. We wanted to put this thing to bed and it’s going to linger here,” Arniel said. “We just wanted to get this game over and done with and let the fans react how they’re going to react. I don’t care about his opinion on things. I just wanted this to end.”
