New Jersey Devils goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, right, took part in a morning skate on Tuesday in Winnipeg, but will not start in net against his former team.John Woods/The Canadian Press
If Baryshnikov returned to Moscow and refused to dance, it couldn’t have caused a bigger stir. Connor Hellebuyck is back in Winnipeg, wearing civilian clothes. It’s all the province of Manitoba can talk about.
The former Jets goalie has come to town for the first time since his defection to the New Jersey Devils in October after demanding a trade and failing to report to training camp, blowing up a nearly 15-year relationship with an organization that drafted the Michigan native in the fifth round and saw him blossom into a three-time Vezina Trophy winner.
Fans were ready to bay for blood on Tuesday night, after Hellebuyck became the third star American to leave Canada for the U.S. – following Quinn Hughes and Brady Tkachuk – amid historic tensions between the countries that have spilled onto the ice in international competition.
The announcement Sunday that the Olympic gold medalist wouldn’t start against his former team has become the talk of the hockey world well beyond Winnipeg. The statement announcing the decision by Devils GM Sunny Mehta, explaining that Hellebuyck lacing up “would potentially give us a reduction in our expected win probability,” provoked culture-war fits from traditionalists who expected the goalie to face the music from outraged partisans, as Tkachuk recently did on his raucous return to Ottawa.
It was a hangdog Hellebuyck who spoke to the Winnipeg media on Tuesday, trying to defuse the ambient tension while seeming to know he stood no chance.
“I want to speak to the love I have for this city, and the connection I’ve had with the community,” he said. “I don’t want any of this to change any of that.”
Cathal Kelly: Hellebuyck hides behind Devils’ AI excuse to dodge start vs. Jets in Winnipeg
It’s too late. Jets fans feel especially burned because Winnipeg is often treated like Siberia by NHL players who prefer more temperate climates and gentler tax regimes. Being abandoned by arguably the best player in franchise history only adds to the city’s ugly duckling complex.
Hellebuyck also obliquely blamed his exit on the smothering attention of a rabid fan base, in a way that was vague enough to fuel endless speculation.
Because his first public expressions of discontent came soon after his return from the Olympics, when he was celebrated by U.S. President Donald Trump for leading the team to gold over Canada, there has long been a perception that the resulting fan backlash soured his relationship with the city.
“There were some moments and some things that happened to my family that crossed the line that I felt, as a husband and a father, made that decision very certain,” he said Tuesday.
“I’m not gonna project a few moments on the entire city, but there are a few moments that I don’t want to see happen again. It is more than just online death threats.”
In a press conference on Tuesday, Hellebuyck said he had good memories of Winnipeg, but that something “more than just online death threats” forced him to request a trade.John Woods/The Canadian Press
His old team seems to have a less charitable interpretation. Earlier this week, Jets coach Scott Arniel said Hellebuyck “gave up on us” when he asked to be dealt two years into a seven-year contract. Arniel added that he was “disappointed” Hellebuyck wouldn’t be playing Tuesday.
The netminder tried to dismiss speculation that he begged out of his homecoming game, insisting that he wanted to play and felt it was his “duty” to suit up. Coach Sheldon Keefe reiterated Tuesday that it was an organizational decision based on Hellebuyck’s heavy workload after an abrupt start to the season.
“I had a good conversation with the coach and with Sunny,” said the goalie. “I left that conversation understanding where they’re at and why they’re making their decision and I respect that.”
In the end, Jets fans may only have a chance to voice their displeasure during pre-game warmups. Hellebuyck was coy about where he would watch the game, but it will apparently not be from the bench.
While suggesting he wouldn’t be on the Devils’ bench on Tuesday night, Hellebuyck said he was looking forward to hearing what Jets fans would come up with in his return to the city.John Woods/The Canadian Press
It’s unlikely he will be spared the sound of boos no matter where he is in the cozy confines of the Canada Life Centre, the league’s smallest arena and one of its loudest. With a sheepish smile, Hellebuyck said he was looking forward to hearing the fans let him have it.
“I’m sure they’ll come up with some clever things,” he said.
Baryshnikov, waiting in the wings at the Bolshoi, could not expect any worse.
More Stories
In its world championship jersey stalemate, Canada has stumbled into a near perfect sweater
Vikings reacquire QB Kirk Cousins at NFL trade deadline, AP source says
Ovechkin says Russian athletes want to represent their country, declined to weigh in on CAS decision