‘Some things that happened to my family crossed the line’: Hellebuyck on decision to leave Jets

New Jersey Devils goalie Connor Hellebuyck will not be facing the music from Winnipeg Jets fans in his return to Manitoba on Tuesday night as he will not be starting due to what the team termed a potential “reduction in our expected win probability.”

He did, however, meet with the media in Winnipeg on Tuesday afternoon to face questions from reporters, share a final parting message to Jets fans and explain what went into his decision to request a trade from the organization that drafted him in 2012.

“I want to speak to the love I have for this city and the connection I’ve had with the community, connection I’ve had with the fans,” Hellebuyck said. “I’ve had all my career accomplishments here, and I don’t want any of this to change any of that. I still feel like I have a lot of relationships here and close friends that mean a lot to me.”

Hellebuyck won three Vezina Trophies as the top goalie in the NHL and even captured the Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP in 2025. Essentially from his first full season in the NHL, the Michigan native was statistically among the best goalies in the league.

The UMass Lowell alum and the Jets had plenty of regular season success during his tenure, but struggled to convert that into deep postseason runs. The Jets won just five Stanley Cup Playoff series with Hellebuyck between the pipes while the netminder posted a career playoff save percentage of .903. His last three playoff runs checked in at marks of .886, .870 and .866.

Hellebuyck backstopped Team USA to its first Olympic gold medal since 1980 last year while the Jets missed the playoffs, and he became one of several members of the American Olympic squad to request a trade away from their NHL team at the time, along with Dylan Larkin and Brady Tkachuk.

“I’ve alluded to this a little bit,” Hellebuyck said. “This was a complex decision and a very difficult one. There’s no one singular moment that wasn’t important in all of this decision-making, and this is over a span of time. I will say with all the uncertainty I was experiencing, there was some moments and some things that happened to my family that for me crossed the line, and as a husband and a father, I felt made that decision very certain.”

Now, with his decision made, Hellebuyck is under contract in New Jersey for the next four seasons after this one. His tenure with the Devils is off to a good start, as his 5-0-0 record, .913 save percentage and 1.96 goals against average look like the sort of goaltending that could make New Jersey a legitimate Stanley Cup contender.

Hellebuyck will not have the chance, barring something unforeseen, to add to those strong numbers Tuesday night, a decision he says he disagrees with.

“They handle their business differently than I’m used to,” Hellebuyck explained. “I went in there and I said my piece, and I said I felt it was my duty to play this game. I want to play, and I had a good conversation with [head coach Sheldon Keefe] and Sunny [Mehta], and I left that conversation understanding where they’re at.”

After the Devils announced that Jake Allen would man the crease on Tuesday night, Jets star winger Kyle Connor and head coach Scott Arniel voiced their thoughts and frustration that their team and fans would not get closure in the form of playing a game against their former goalie. Arniel characterized Hellebuyck as having given up on the Jets.

“Obviously from an emotional standpoint that hurts,” Hellebuyck said of Arniel’s comment. “But I understand. There’s a lot of emotions going on right now. I feel them myself.”

“The day I said I was a Jet for life, I meant it,” Hellebuyck added. “But I also didn’t foresee the future that was going to happen.”