A goaltender who spent a season waiting at home has arrived in a new city, carrying a long career and a trade that nobody in the league expected. Connor Hellebuyck, a three-time Vezina winner, now stands in front of New Jersey reporters speaking of a role he has not yet described and a hunger to play again. Between the cold rooms of a sidelined season and the warm arena lights ahead, he is choosing words that honor both the country that raised his game and the one that now asks him to play for it. The true measure of his answer will come when he steps back into the building in Winnipeg.
Hellebuyck Says He's 'Really Excited' to Return to Hockey After Trade to New Jersey Devils
Sitting at home for so long was getting to me.
Mark
Hellebuyck hasn't played all season, and now he's a Devil. What's the headline here?
Mimi
That he's finally going back to work. He said sitting at home was getting to him, and he's excited to play again. After a summer trade request and a season on the sidelines, that's a plain, human thing to say.
Mark
He also said they brought him in for a specific role. What is it?
Mimi
He didn't say, at least not in what's reported. He tied it to both on-ice and off-ice contributions.
Luke
Worth flagging: that's the whole of it. We don't know what the role is, and we don't know why he asked for the trade. The coverage only says he asked over the summer.
Mark
And the comments about Canada versus the US?
Mimi
He was gracious. He called the attention in Canadian markets a catch-22, since some people love it and sometimes you want to be left alone, but he wouldn't say one place was better.
Luke
That's one answer to one question at one press event. It's easy to read it as a dig at Winnipeg or a tribute to it, and it's neither. He praised both.
Mark
Does he make the Devils better?
Luke
Nobody can say yet. They're 7-4-0 without him, and he hasn't played a game for them. Any claim about the effect is a projection.
Mimi
The next marker is November 10, when New Jersey goes to Winnipeg.
O Pulso
- A three-time Vezina winner sat out the entire season after requesting a trade, and the NHL is still feeling the jolt of his move from Winnipeg to New Jersey.
- Hellebuyck, speaking to Devils media for the first time, is eager to play again but offers few specifics about the role the team brought him in to fill.
- The Devils, already 7-4-0 after beating the Kings, are adding a goalie of elite standing to a group that is winning now.
- Hellebuyck is balancing praise for Canadian and American hockey culture, a diplomatic answer that will be tested when New Jersey visits Winnipeg on November 10.
A goaltender who spent a season waiting at home has arrived in a new city, carrying a long career and a trade that nobody in the league expected. Connor Hellebuyck, a three-time Vezina winner, now stands in front of New Jersey reporters speaking of a role he has not yet described and a hunger to play again. Between the cold rooms of a sidelined season and the warm arena lights ahead, he is choosing words that honor both the country that raised his game and the one that now asks him to play for it. The true measure of his answer will come when he steps back into the building in Winnipeg.
On Saturday, one day after the trade that moved him out of Winnipeg, goaltender Connor Hellebuyck faced New Jersey reporters for the first time as a Devil. He said that sitting at home for so long had been wearing on him, and that he was eager to play hockey again.
The trade, announced Friday, sent the three-time Vezina Trophy winner and Olympic gold medalist from the Jets to the Devils. Hellebuyck had not played a single game this season. He had asked for a trade over the summer and had been waiting ever since, a stretch that shook the league when the deal came through.
He was brief about what comes next. He said he was joining a very skilled group and that the team had brought him in for a specific role, which he was eager to fill on the ice and off it. He did not explain what that role involves.
The Devils arrive at this moment already winning, at 7-4-0 after a victory over Los Angeles, and he has yet to suit up for them. Asked about the difference between playing in New Jersey and in a Canadian market like Winnipeg, he called it a catch-22: some fans love the attention, and sometimes a player just wants to be left alone. He spoke warmly of his years in Canada, of the friends he made, and he declined to rank the two places. Hockey is loved in both, he said, in its own way, and that should be celebrated.
The real test comes November 10, when the Devils visit Winnipeg and Hellebuyck returns to the building where he spent his career, in front of the fans he just praised.
On Saturday, a day after the trade that moved him out of Winnipeg, goaltender Connor Hellebuyck stood in front of New Jersey reporters for the first time as a Devil. He told them that sitting at home for so long had been getting to him, and that he was really excited to play hockey again.
The trade, announced Friday, sent Hellebuyck from the Winnipeg Jets to the New Jersey Devils. He is a three-time Vezina Trophy winner and an Olympic gold medalist, and the source describes him as a soon-to-be Medal of Freedom recipient. The deal shook the NHL. Hellebuyck had not played at all this season. He asked the Jets for a trade over the summer, and he had been waiting at home ever since.
His remarks, as reported by the Associated Press, were brief about what comes next. He said he is joining a very skilled group and that the Devils brought him in for a certain, specific role. He said he is eager to fill it, on the ice and off it. He did not spell out what that role involves, and the reporting does not say.
He arrives on a team already doing well. The Devils stand at 7-4-0 after beating the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, a game in which Jake Allen played goal. Adding a goalie of Hellebuyck's standing could make goals harder to come by for opponents, though he has yet to appear in a game for New Jersey.
Reporters also asked him about the difference between playing in New Jersey and playing in a Canadian market like Winnipeg, where fans may stop players in the grocery store to talk hockey. Hellebuyck called it a catch-22. Some people love that attention, he said, and sometimes a player just wants to be left alone.
He was warm about his time in Canada. Canada loves its hockey, he said, and he felt that to the bone. He said he loved his time there and the people he met, and that he made good friends and built good relationships. He declined to rank the two places, saying he has enjoyed both and experienced both.
He described the difference as part of hockey culture. They love their hockey in Canada, he said, and we love our hockey in our own way, and that should be celebrated. Fox's write-up called it a diplomatic answer.
The test of that answer comes soon. The Devils visit Winnipeg on November 10, which will put Hellebuyck back in the building where he spent his career before the trade request, in front of the fans he just praised.
Citações Notáveis
He said he is joining a very skilled group and was brought in for a specific role he is excited to fill on and off the ice.— Connor Hellebuyck, per the Associated Press
He said he can't say one hockey market is better than the other, and that each country loves hockey in its own way.— Connor Hellebuyck
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