Devils Benched Hellebuyck for Winnipeg Return | New York Rangers News

Corey (0:00)

Today is November 9th. Yo, I'm Corey with the story, and this is New York Rangers News Today, your AI-powered team report. Alright, so big drama unfolding with the New Jersey Devils this weekend. After their solid 4-0 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs, General Manager Sunny Mehta announced that goalie Connor Hellebuyck won't be starting against his former team, the Winnipeg Jets. This would have been Hellebuyck's first game back in Winnipeg since requesting a trade. That's a head-scratcher for sure. Then there's the reasoning behind the benching. Mehta said starting Hellebuyck could hurt their expected win probability.

That's a wild take, especially given the situation.

You'd think they'd want their star goalie and net for a game like this, right? Also, head coach Sheldon Keefe weighed in, saying they want to manage Hellebuyck's workload. He pointed out this would have been Hellebuyck's fourth start in just 8 days, but it sounds like Hellebuyck wished he could play. He expressed disappointment and wanted to face the music back in Winnipeg. Gotta respect him for wanting that opportunity. And to ease some of the backlash, the Devils are letting Hellebuyck hold a press conference before the game. Not sure how that's going to go, but it's interesting they're trying to manage the narrative instead of having him face the criticism on the ice.

So overall, this decision is getting a lot of heat. The Devils probably thought they were sidestepping drama, but now they're right in the middle of it. It'll be curious to see how this plays out and what it means for the team's vibe moving forward.