Connor Hellebuyck has started five games for the New Jersey Devils and won all five, including a 4-0 shutout of Toronto on Sunday. He wanted to play in Winnipeg on Tuesday. The club has decided he isn’t going to.
General manager Sunny Mehta explained the decision in a written statement on Sunday night, and the explanation is the reason everybody is talking about it.
“Connor Hellebuyck was adamant that he felt a duty to play on Tuesday in Winnipeg,” Mehta said. “However, in our estimation, playing in this game would potentially give us a reduction in our expected win probability.”
Devils goaltending this season:
| Goaltender | Starts | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Connor Hellebuyck | 5 | 5-0 |
| Jake Allen | 9 | 6-3 |
Why isn’t Connor Hellebuyck playing in Winnipeg?
The club’s own numbers make that a difficult sentence to defend. Hellebuyck has won every game he has started for New Jersey while Jake Allen, who gets the start instead, is 6-3. Head coach Sheldon Keefe offered a second and rather more conventional explanation, citing workload.
Supporters have focused less on the decision than on the decision to write it down.
“This statement was not a good idea. They’d have been better off not saying anything and starting Allen then citing expected win probability,” one wrote.
“Saying this in any professional setting is insanity, but saying it about the gold medal, Vezina-winning goalie you traded for is absolutely f***ing diabolical. This cannot be real,” said another.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen something like this in any sport. It’s wild to me that they actually think that putting out a statement like this would be less of a distraction than actually allowing him to play,” a third added.
Hellebuyck was only informed of the decision in the past day or so, having made clear he wanted to be in the net for it.
He will speak to reporters after the morning skate at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday. That availability was arranged at his own request and written into the club’s statement, and he has said he will finally explain why he asked to leave Winnipeg. His letter to Jets fans last week cited challenging family circumstances without going any further than that.
Winnipeg have won three of four after a nine-game losing run, and the Devils arrive having won five in a row.
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