Connor Hellebuyck wanted the chance to skate into Canada Life Centre on Tuesday night and face the Winnipeg Jets, but the New Jersey Devils chose to keep him out of the lineup anyway.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe said the call came down to workload, conditioning and the grind of the schedule, not the emotion of the moment. Hellebuyck has been back in action for only two weeks after missing training camp and the preseason, and Keefe said the team is still building him up.
“The competitor in me, of course, says hey, let’s get Connor out there, let’s go, let’s get at it,” Keefe laughed. “But as I said, Sunny made the decision that he didn’t want him to be a part of this one.”
Keefe was even more direct about how the situation would look in a different setting.
“If we were in any other city, there’s no chance he’d be playing in this game,” Keefe said.
The Devils have been grinding through a brutal stretch, and Keefe pointed to the numbers to explain why the club is being cautious. New Jersey has played four games in six nights, with Hellebuyck appearing in three of them. The team has also gone through 10 games in 19 days across eight cities and three time zones.
Keefe said a recent outing on short rest also factored into the decision, after Hellebuyck struggled in that appearance.
He also made clear that Hellebuyck pushed to be in the crease. According to Keefe, the goalie said “it’s his duty to play this game.”
Still, Keefe backed his general manager’s approach, even with some pushback around the decision.
“Every decision Sunny makes for our organization is done with logic and reason and without emotion attached, and that has served us extremely well to this point in the early going.”
With Hellebuyck sitting, Jake Allen will start for New Jersey. On the other side, former Devils goalie Nico Daws will be in net for Winnipeg.
Keefe spoke highly of Daws, who had once been in the Devils’ plans before Hellebuyck’s arrival changed the picture.
“Just two weeks ago, we were building Nico Daws up to be a guy that’s going to start 40-plus games for us and be a huge part of our team,” Keefe said.
“Any time he’s played for me in New Jersey, he’s done extremely well. Big guy, solid, love how he moves in the net.”
Keefe also said his group is ready for the atmosphere that comes with Hellebuyck’s return to Winnipeg, calling it an emotional night and noting, “It’s not often you get to play in a hostile environment in November for a regular season game,” he said.
Even with all the attention on Hellebuyck, Keefe expects a tight one.
“We’re expecting a tight game here today, despite all the circumstances.”
In Other News...
Hellebuycks Winnipeg Return Just Reopened A Frustrating Jets Breakup
Connor Hellebuycks return to Winnipeg has already brought an awkward old chapter back into focus. Now with the New Jersey Devils, the former Jets goaltender spent time with the media in the city where he built so much of his career, thanking the fans and making clear he still has appreciation for the place he once called home. He also revisited the circumstances that led to his trade request, saying personal and family factors were part of the decision to move on.
The on-ice reunion will come with an unexpected wrinkle, since Hellebuyck will not start in the game. He said he disagrees with the choice, even as he has put together a strong record with New Jersey, and the decision only adds another layer to a breakup that never really felt clean in the first place. For Jets fans, it is a reminder that the end of his Winnipeg run was shaped by more than hockey, and the return has reopened questions that were never fully settled. [Read more 🡒]
Hellebuyck Just Added A Painful Twist To His Jets Exit
Connor Hellebuycks trade request from the Winnipeg Jets has taken on a more personal edge, with the goaltender saying the decision was shaped by a complicated set of factors rather than one simple grievance. He acknowledged the challenges of being an American player in Canada, but said those issues were not the main reason he wanted out, leaving the impression that there was more behind the move than the usual hockey frustrations.
What he did make clear was that the situation had become difficult enough to involve his family, though he stopped short of going into specifics out of concern for their privacy. Now, with the New Jersey Devils ruling him out of their upcoming game in Winnipeg, the return trip has already taken on an awkward tone, and the full story of what pushed him to that point still remains out of public view. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Fans Must Wait Longer For Connor Hellebuyck's Winnipeg Return
Connor Hellebuycks first trip back to Winnipeg will have to wait a little longer. The Jets announced Jake Allen will get the start in goal against the New Jersey Devils, keeping the former Winnipeg netminder on the sideline for a night that had carried a little extra weight for fans and a few familiar faces in the room. Head coach Scott Arniel and captain Adam Lowry both acknowledged the emotional layer attached to Hellebuycks return, which had been one of the more anticipated storylines around this matchup.
For Winnipeg, it pushes the reunion to a later date and leaves the focus on the goaltending plan in front of a Devils team that still brings plenty of intrigue. The clubs will see each other again later in the season in Newark, giving Hellebuyck another chance to return to a building where he once played a central role. For now, though, Jets fans will have to keep waiting for the full homecoming. [Read more 🡒]