{"id":2159,"section":"sports","section_label":"Sports","url":"https://www.brokenews.co/sports/2159","headline":"Devils bench Hellebuyck for his Winnipeg return, cite win probability","dek":"GM Sunny Mehta says sitting the goalie against his former team was an organizational call Hellebuyck himself objected to.","body":"Connor Hellebuyck will not play Tuesday when the Devils visit Winnipeg, the team he spent his first 11 NHL seasons with before a trade request tied to private family circumstances led to a messy split and his eventual move to New Jersey in a blockbuster deal on Oct. 23.\n\nDevils GM Sunny Mehta explained the decision in a statement, saying Hellebuyck playing \"would potentially give us a reduction in our expected win probability.\" Mehta added that \"this has been an organizational decision for us that we've debated at length,\" noting that \"Connor Hellebuyck was adamant that he felt a duty to play on Tuesday.\"\n\nThe announcement has reignited a saga that had mostly quieted since the trade. Hellebuyck won three Vezina Trophies and a league MVP with the Jets and is 5-0 this season with a 1.96 GAA and a .913 save percentage. Jets fans, who had been expected to voice their frustration with Hellebuyck in person for the team's only visit this season, will not get that chance. Hellebuyck has said the decision not to play was not his own.","published_at":"2026-11-09T23:17:45.300620+00:00","source_count":4,"written_from":[{"outlet":"Awful Announcing","publisher":"Awful Announcing","title":"New Jersey Devils give bewildering explanation for benching Connor Hellebuyck in Winnipeg return","url":"https://awfulannouncing.com/nhl/new-jersey-devils-bewildering-explanation-benching-connor-hellebuyck-winnipeg-return.html"},{"outlet":"Front Office Sports","publisher":"Front Office Sports","title":"Devils Stoke Drama With Bizarre Hellebuyck Announcement","url":"https://frontofficesports.com/article/devils-stoke-drama-with-bizarre-hellebuyck-announcement/"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Devils sit Connor Hellebuyck against Winnipeg for laughable reason","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/devils-sit-connor-hellebuyck-against-153105778.html"},{"outlet":"The Athletic","publisher":"The Athletic","title":"Devils announce Connor Hellebuyck will not start in return to Winnipeg","url":"https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7766479/2026/11/08/connor-hellebuyck-winnipeg-jets-return-devils/"}],"more_coverage":[{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Why Devils' Connor Hellebuyck isn't starting return to Winnipeg in curious decision","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/why-devils-connor-hellebuyck-isnt-035532874.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Devils GM says Connor Hellebuyck will not play against Winnipeg Jets, citing 'reduction' in win probability","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/article/devils-gm-says-connor-hellebuyck-will-not-play-against-winnipeg-jets-citing-reduction-in-win-probability-040128140.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Connor Hellebuyck won't play in Devils' game vs. Jets, will explain trade request","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/connor-hellebuyck-wont-play-devils-043552506.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Devils Won't Start Connor Hellebuyck In His First Game Back In Winnipeg On Nov. 10","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/devils-wont-start-connor-hellebuyck-042837838.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Devils’ Connor Hellebuyck reacts to shocking benching in Jets homecoming","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/devils-connor-hellebuyck-reacts-shocking-050227729.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Devils Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck Reacts to Not Starting Against the Jets","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/devils-goaltender-connor-hellebuyck-reacts-063505229.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Devils Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck Reacts to Not Starting Against the Jets","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/devils-goaltender-connor-hellebuyck-reacts-063505706.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Connor Hellebucyk won't even sit on the bench on Tuesday in Winnipeg","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/connor-hellebucyk-wont-even-sit-141032690.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Devils Stoke Drama With Bizarre Hellebuyck Announcement","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/devils-stoke-drama-bizarre-hellebuyck-154227011.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"New Jersey Devils give bewildering explanation for benching Connor Hellebuyck in Winnipeg return","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/jersey-devils-bewildering-explanation-benching-154529625.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"NHL analyst blasts Devils for keeping Connor Hellebuyck out vs. Jets","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/nhl-analyst-blasts-devils-keeping-184753105.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Devils say Hellebuyck will not face his former teammates in Winnipeg, cite reduced win probability","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/devils-hellebuyck-not-face-former-210048280.html"},{"outlet":"Yahoo Sports","publisher":"Yahoo Sports","title":"Jets coach criticizes Devils' decision not to play Connor Hellebuyck in Winnipeg","url":"https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/jets-coach-criticizes-devils-decision-221436990.html"}],"image":{"url":"https://frontofficesports.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/2026-11-09T022101Z_567166370_MT1USATODAY30317144_RTRMADP_3_NHL-NEW-JERSEY-DEVILS-AT-TORONTO-MAPLE-LEAFS-scaled-e1794238686327.jpg?quality=80&w=1024","credit":"Front Office Sports","width":1024},"embed":null,"license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","attribution":"Analysis data is licensed CC BY 4.0. Credit brokenews and link to the story page you took it from. Source headlines, story titles taken from a source headline, and quoted passages remain the property of their publishers and are quoted for comparison, not licensed onward.","terms":"https://www.brokenews.co/about#reuse"}