Shortly after their win against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the New Jersey Devils released a statement from Sunny Mehta. The statement explained that, after a discussion by their management, Connor Hellebuyck will not play against his former team on Tuesday night against the Jets. So far, people are outraged; fans of the Devils, Jets, and the NHL are now upset at Sunny Mehta’s decision not to play their new star goalie. However, what if it’s his long-term strategy to get more wins?
Let’s look at this situation from both sides, starting with the negative side, given how much hate it's getting. Part of the reason people in the hockey world hate the decision not to play Hellebuyck isn't just because he’s never going to get that closure at the end of time in Winnipeg.
The biggest problem right now is deciding whether to put out the statement after we just shut the Leafs out with Hellebuyck. So now it feels like we can’t enjoy the praise of the win anymore because people are going to talk about the statement and the decision. The rest of the NHL world is going to criticize Sunny Mehta for putting out a statement, and it makes the Devils look bad.
A statement from Devils GM Sunny Mehta on our game Tuesday in Winnipeg. pic.twitter.com/xrF8OBaHXe
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) November 9, 2026
Connor Hellebuyck will not play for the New Jersey Devils in his return to Winnipeg
The positive is that this decision does make sense. After the way the Tkachuk brothers’ and Quinn Hughes’ games were handled with their former crowds, I think they want to keep it safe. It also makes me feel better about any fear or thought of Hellebuyck having a bad game in his return.
Keefe also said in his post-game presser that this was Connor’s 3rd game in 6 days, and he’s only been here for 2 weeks, so they want to keep him ready for the upcoming game against the Capitals. It can work out if we see the same kind of play we’ve seen in the last 5 games during this winning streak.
Whether you hate it or love it, this whole situation will probably be forgotten about soon enough when it’s over. But for this week, it's going to be an insane media frenzy.
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