Winnipeg reporter Mike McIntyre just reported that the Jets are stung by the Devils' decision to sit Connor Hellebuyck on Tuesday.
The Jets drafted Hellebuyck 130th overall in 2012, and Tuesday's game in Winnipeg was supposed to be his return to the building as an opponent. Instead, the Devils will keep him out of the lineup, and his former team is not hiding that it noticed.
McIntyre wrote that the Jets were looking forward to getting their shots in against Hellebuyck, and that New Jersey's choice isn't sitting well with the players who used to play in front of him. His post opens with the line "He gave up on us."
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Jets coach Scott Arniel did not sound happy either. According to Mike Morreale, Arniel called Hellebuyck not starting in Winnipeg a "disappointment" and said the situation has hung around through the summer, training camp and the trade. "I was just kind of hoping it would be done," he said.
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Arniel also said a Hellebuyck start would have brought closure, and that the situation "is going to linger." The Devils' explanations have kept shifting, a point we raised in our look at Sheldon Keefe's latest reasoning on the decision.
Kyle Connor, the Jets' top scorer with 13 goals in 18 games, was just as direct. He told McIntyre he did not think a Hellebuyck absence was even possible.
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Asked whether the Jets were relieved not to face him, Connor answered "No, I think we all hoped he was playing." On whether anyone has been in touch with Hellebuyck, he said "No. It's all business."
Why the Devils are keeping Hellebuyck away from Winnipeg
The Devils' side, per James Nichols, is that Jake Allen starts in Winnipeg. New Jersey is prioritizing its two games against Washington on Thursday and Saturday, which points to Hellebuyck being saved for the Capitals.
Hellebuyck has given them little reason to doubt him. He is 5-0 and just posted his first shutout of the year, stopping all 23 shots in Toronto on Sunday night.
The Devils are 13-5-0 and riding a five-game winning streak, so the hockey case for managing a goalie's workload is easy to follow. It still looks like a bad choice. The Jets are the ones who will remember it, and the Devils never explained it well, which is how their original Hellebuyck statement ended up under scrutiny.
Hellebuyck is scheduled to speak to the media in Winnipeg tomorrow afternoon, and the Devils and Jets drop the puck Tuesday night. Jets players have already said what they expected to see, and it won't be him.
Quick hits
ISLANDERS: Pete DeBoer says Mathew Barzal, Matias Maccelli and Ryan Pulock could all return during the Islanders' California road trip.
That would be a big boost for a team that has needed its core back.
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UTAH MAMMOTH: Karel Vejmelka sits No. 1 on RotoWire's fantasy "Time to Cut Bait" list.
Mammoth fans know exactly why that stings, and the pressure on the Utah crease is growing.
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BOSTON BRUINS: Marco Sturm calls Patrice Bergeron "Mr. Perfect" as the Bruins spent Monday practice getting ready for his Hall of Fame night.
Even the coach dropped his usual business tone.
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ST-LOUIS BLUES: Jim Montgomery says 20-year-old defenseman Adam Jiricek will get ice time "somewhere in the mid-20s" as the Blues try to stop a three-game losing streak.
That is a lot of trust in a young blueliner.
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LOS ANGELES KINGS: Andrew Knoll threw cold water on hopes of a quick Kevin Fiala return, putting the realistic target at December.
Kings fans will have to wait a while longer.
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Were the Devils wrong to sit Connor Hellebuyck in Winnipeg?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Sheldon Keefe offers another excuse for controversial decision on Connor Hellebuyck
