Are Devils and Sunny Mehta Protecting Hellebuyck or Something Else?

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The New Jersey Devils are sitting goaltender Connor Hellebuyck in Winnipeg on Tuesday to save him for the home-and-home against the Washington Capitals. At least, that’s what GM Sunny Mehta was trying to relay with his messy statement about choosing not to play Hellebuyck against his old team even though the goaltender wanted in that game.

The optics on the Hellebuyck decision are not great. Mehta doesn’t care. He’s decided that the numbers suggest playing Hellebuyck on Tuesday is the decision that offers the lowest odds. As such, despite the backlash and the headline news that surfaces because of his statement on the matter, he’s sitting his starter and playing a goaltender who has a fairly poor record against Winnipeg.

TSN analyst Ray Ferraro notes, “This might make a little more sense if Jake Allen, who is very capable, doesn’t have 11 losses against the Jets in regulation… The most of any team in the league for him.” These were comments after Ferraro had already said, “This is silly. Averages over 60 games a season last 5 years.”

It’s clear where Ferraro sits on the decision.

Eric Engels of Sportsnet writes, “Here’s the quiet part out loud: If you’re bold enough to demand a trade two years into the seven-year deal you were given to be a franchise goaltender, surely you can be bold enough to demand the net in your first return to the city you asked out of.”

John Buccigross, a long-time ESPN sports anchor and journalist, wrote, “Absolutely ridiculous. This is the entertainment business — fans pay big money for tickets and to watch the games… Slap in the face to customers…And even more ridiculous to announce a ‘reason.”

This was in response to Hellebuyck telling the media on Sunday night that he wanted to play against the Jets. He was hoping to face the music and get in that environment. However, the decision was above him, and it is “out of his hands.” Engels seems to be suggesting Hellebuyck either didn’t push very hard, or there’s something else afoot.

What’s Really Going on with Hellebuyck?

Devils fans are defending the decision. Most outside that market are not. Many believe this was either a move to protect Hellebuyck from something else or the Devils are avoiding one problem by creating another. Is this about ensuring he’s not verbally attacked by fans?

Mike McIntyre noted that Hellebuyck always stays in the room with the goalie coach when he’s not playing. “I assume the only time fans will see him is during pre-game warmups, assuming he comes out for that.” This means he won’t even be in the stands where the visiting backup goalie often sits when in Winnipeg.

James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now isn’t buying it. He writes:

“Do you honestly think Jets fans won’t still let the Devils on the ice hear it? Because they will. This isn’t about protecting players from hearing boos. This is purely Sunny using data to help guide his decisions, just like all the decisions before this one.”

He also noted:

Last word on this tonight. This was a Sunny Mehta decision, full stop. The Devils GM has already made one thing clear: he doesn’t manage for your approval. He manages for the highest probability of winning, and that’s the only standard he used here. If New Jersey beats Washington this weekend and widens the gap, the move looks shrewd. If the Devils are in the playoffs and winning games that matter, no one will still be talking about it. He knows this is just the latest news cycle—it will pass. Sunny cares about wins. That’s the only thing that matters to him. I know the optics look bad. He doesn’t care.”

What if the Devils get lit up? We know the Jets will be motivated. We know Allen is not as strong a goaltender. Are the Devils simply avoiding what might happen if Hellebuyck gets scored on a lot and loses the game? If Allen loses, it’s no big deal. If Hellebuyck loses, there’s a lot of criticism going around that the Devils’ new netminder continues to struggle in big games.

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