Connor Hellebuyck trade from Winnipeg Jets, Digi Mart USA News (Winnipeg, Manitoba): Devils goalie Connor Hellebuyck said his family’s safety and uncertainty about his career played a part in requesting a trade from the Winnipeg Jets at the end of last season. He would not point to one thing that led to his decision to ask out.
“There’s no one singular moment that wasn’t important in all of this decision-making and this is over a span of time,” Hellebuyck said in his return to Canada Life Centre on Tuesday. “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.”
Hellebuyck, who was traded by the Jets to the Devils on Oct. 23, was addressing Winnipeg media for the first time since his exit interview April 17, after the Jets failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He asked for a trade and went public with the request in a statement Aug. 27.
“It is more than just online death threats and I’m going to please ask you to respect my privacy and my family’s privacy and I’m not going to go deeper than that,” Hellebuyck said. “But there was more that made me and my family uncomfortable, on top of some uncertainty with my career, I felt that a change of scenery was what was best.”
Hellebuyck was speaking ahead of the Devils’ 4-2 loss to the Jets on Tuesday. He did not play in front of his former fans, per a decision by coach Sheldon Keefe and general manager Sunny Mehta.
“I went in there and said my piece and I said I felt it’s my duty to play this game,” he said. “I respect it.”
Hellebuyck spent 11 seasons in Winnipeg after the Jets selected him in the fifth round of the 2012 NHL Draft. He was 345-208-55 and won the Vezina Trophy three times and the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player in 2024-25. Last season, he helped Team USA win gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Hellebuyck is 5-0-0 with the Devils with a 1.96 goals-against average and .913 save percentage. After Mehta said Hellebuyck would not start in his return to Winnipeg, Jets coach Scott Arniel said the decision was hard for him to accept and that the saga continues to drag on.
