Hellebuyck sits as Mercer, Jets beat Devils 4-2

It started Sunday night with a statement from Devils GM Sunny Mehta. The reason wasn't rest, it wasn't an injury and it wasn't a back-to-back. It was a model.

Chris Johnston

@reporterchris

New, for @TheAthletic: Devils stunningly announce that Connor Hellebuyck will not start in return to Winnipeg, citing a "reduction in our expected win probability" 🔗⬇️ t.co/brDi2Z3EHN

The timing made it stranger. Hellebuyck had just posted his first shutout of the season and was 5-0-0 as a Devil since the October 23 trade that sent him to New Jersey for a package that included Mercer and Daws. He was rolling, his new team was rolling, and the one start everybody had circled got taken off the board 2 days early. Asked about it, Hellebuyck didn't hide that he wanted to go.

David Pagnotta

@TheFourthPeriod

Hellebuyck on not starting Tuesday in Winnipeg against his former Jets… after posting his first shutout of the season and going 5-0-0 to start his Devils career.

By Monday morning, nobody in hockey was talking about anything else. The prevailing take wasn't that the Devils were wrong to protect their goalie. It was that Hellebuyck got to dodge the whole thing: he engineered the exit, and now he skips the night where he'd have to answer for it in his own crease.

Eric Engels

@EricEngels

EE’s not so random hockey thought of the day: Connor Hellebuyck either owns the decision or the net in Winnipeg. He shouldn’t be permitted to escape both… t.co/Q0Jv3yMlOW

Winnipeg's coach didn't bother with diplomacy. Scott Arniel said Hellebuyck "gave up on us," and that a start Tuesday would have closed the book. Instead the Jets got a goalie in the video room and a fanbase with nowhere to put its anger.

Daily Faceoff

@DailyFaceoff

Hellebuyck “Gave Up on Us”, Oilers Take Over the West + 2026 HHOF | Daily Faceoff Live t.co/epSsA1RQ2P

That's the part the Devils maybe didn't think through. Announcing it 2 days out didn't lower the temperature, it gave Winnipeg 48 hours to stew. Even the guys covering New Jersey were pushing back by Monday afternoon on how ugly some of the reaction had gotten, but the anger was baked in.

Mike McIntyre

@mikemcintyrewpg

#NHLJets Scott Arniel has plenty to say about New Jersey's decision to NOT have Connor Hellebuyck face his old team. Mentions the former goaltender "gave up on us" and that playing Tuesday "would put closure to it. This doesn't. It would be nice to finally be done with this."

Hellebuyck finally talked on Tuesday after morning skate, and he talked for a while. He didn't pretend the breakup was simple, and he admitted the way he left plays right into the oldest knock on the city, the one he spent years trying to argue against.

Anthony Corona

@ACoronaNJD

Connor Hellebuyck on if he is aware that him forcing his way out of Winnipeg could reinforce some of the negative perceptions of Winnipeg via t.co/3pEXKvllVv: "Absolutely. And I spent the majority of my career speaking the other narrative, speaking how much I loved it there and how this is a destination to play. You should want to play here. I signed long term hoping it would show that this is a good place to be a good hockey player and enjoy the hockey market. And that’s why I don’t want this to get out of hand. It’s not fair for the city. It’s not fair for the organization. It’s not fair to me, and it’s not fair to the guys over in that locker room." #NJDevils #GoJetsGo

Meanwhile, the guys New Jersey gave up were getting ready to play. Daws, a former Devils goalie himself, drew the start for Winnipeg against Jake Allen, the veteran he credited with teaching him to trust himself.

Amanda Stein

@amandacstein

Caught up with former #NJDevils goalie Nico Daws today and he says it'll be fun going up against Jake Allen tonight. I asked him about their relationship and what the most important thing he learned from Jake was: "Just believe in myself," Daws said. "He was always just, 'Do your thing. Believe in yourself. You're a good goalie.' So, yeah, I always appreciate that."

Allen led the Devils out and Hellebuyck backed up, and Canada Life Centre let him have it during warmups, booing and chanting "Coward!" The building also gave Mercer his own chant, which he called "pretty special" afterward. Jesper Bratt and Cody Glass scored for New Jersey to keep it close into the third. Then the crowd came up with a new one.

Mercer did the rest. He scored twice against his old team, including the third-period winner, and Kyle Connor added 2 more. Daws made 19 saves for his first win as a Jet, Allen stopped 21, and the Devils' 5-game winning streak ended in the one building where the math was supposed to be on their side. New Jersey falls to 13-6-0. Winnipeg is 8-8-3 with 4 straight wins after an 0-7-2 skid.

So the "expected win probability" move cost the Devils the game they were trying to protect, and it didn't settle anything for Winnipeg either. Arniel wanted it put to bed. It isn't. The next time New Jersey comes to Winnipeg, the first question will be whether Hellebuyck is in the crease, and that building has already proved it'll be loud either way.