Overview
- New Jersey announced late Sunday that it will not start newly acquired goalie Connor Hellebuyck in his first game back in Winnipeg and will instead start veteran Jake Allen for Tuesday’s matchup.
- General manager Sunny Mehta said the club’s analysis showed starting Hellebuyck "would potentially give us a reduction in our expected win probability," making the decision an explicit analytics-driven roster move.
- Hellebuyck told reporters he was "adamant" that he wanted to play but accepted the team’s call and is scheduled to address the media in Winnipeg to explain his side of the trade and departure.
- Jets coach Scott Arniel and several Winnipeg players expressed surprise and disappointment, saying sitting Hellebuyck denies fans and the club a moment of closure and pushes the storyline to the teams’ Nov. 28 meeting in New Jersey.
- Hellebuyck has gone 5-0 for the Devils with a .913 save percentage and 1.96 goals-against average, so the move has intensified debate over public use of analytics versus player, locker-room and fan expectations.