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Connor Hellebuyck was greeted by boos and jeers from Jets fans during his return to Winnipeg just weeks after he was traded to the Devils.
From the moment he stepped onto the ice for warm-ups to the drop of the puck in Winnipeg’s 4-2 win, the fans inside Canada Life Centre on Tuesday gave Hellebuyck a piece of their minds following the American goaltender’s trade request, which ended with his move to the Devils on Oct. 23.
Loud boos greeted Hellebuyck when he took the ice for warmups prior to the Devils’ loss. The derision included a number of colorful chants in his direction.
The jilted fans chanted “Helle sucks!” and “coward” at him while he went through his pregame routine on the ice.
While it wasn’t quite the vitriolic or comical reception that John Tavares received when he returned to Long Island for the first time after leaving the Islanders to sign with the Maple Leafs in 2018, Hellebuyck’s welcome was far from warm.
When the game started, Jets fans chanted, “Where is Connor?” 20 seconds into the opening period.
Dawson Mercer scored 7:54 into the first period against the Devils — Mercer was part of the trade that sent Hellebuyck to New Jersey — and later Jets fans chanted, “Pull your goalie.”
Social media posts also showed fans with signs directed toward Hellebuyck, with some of them reading, “Softer Than Charmin” and “Playoff Pylon.”
Ahead of the game, Hellebuyck spoke with reporters and indicated that it was alleged threats to his family that ultimately led to his desire to leave Winnipeg, which had selected him 130th overall in the 2012 NHL Draft and where he later made his NHL debut on Nov. 27, 2015.
“I’ve been very connected with this community, and I’ve loved my time here, but there are a few moments that I don’t want to see happen again,” Hellebuyck told reporters. “It is more than just online death threats, and I’m going to ask you to respect my privacy and my family’s privacy. I won’t go deeper than that.
“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.”
The Jets, after their win, trolled the Devils a bit more in reference to New Jersey general manager Sunny Mehta’s statement earlier this week that said Hellebuyck wouldn’t be playing Tuesday because it gave the team a “reduction in our expected win probability.”
“Expected Win Probability 100%,” the Jets wrote on X.
