Connor Hellebuyck Sits in Winnipeg Return as Jets Beat Devils 4-2
Jets fans booed their former goalie in warmups, and the two players Winnipeg got for him decided the game.
Winnipeg got its moment with Connor Hellebuyck after all. It just came during warmups. The former Jets goalie didn’t play in his first trip back since the October trade, and the two players Winnipeg got for him made the difference in a 4-2 Jets win over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night at Canada Life Centre.
Dawson Mercer scored twice, including the power-play winner with 8:02 left, and goalie Nico Daws made 19 saves for his first win in a Jets sweater. Both came over from New Jersey in the Oct. 23 deal.
Connor Hellebuyck hears it in warmups
Hellebuyck took the ice with the Devils for warmups and was met by loud boos, ESPN reported. TSN reported a loud “coward” chant from the crowd and said one fan threw a sweater onto the ice.
The reaction didn’t come out of nowhere. Hellebuyck asked for a trade in the spring, went public with the request in August, then didn’t report to training camp. He isn’t the only star to ask out this fall: Nikita Kucherov has requested a trade from Tampa Bay, though the Lightning say he isn’t available. The Jets suspended him, and the standoff ran into the regular season before Winnipeg dealt him to New Jersey.
Last week, Hellebuyck posted a letter to Jets fans on Instagram. He said “very challenging circumstances involving my family” were part of the decision, without giving details, and wrote that Winnipeg is where his family got its start.
Full Hellebuyck media conference from today:https://t.co/FYhapSLRvF
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) November 10, 2026
Why the Devils kept him on the bench
This was New Jersey’s call, not his. General manager Sunny Mehta said Sunday the team debated it at length and that Hellebuyck insisted he felt he had a duty to play in Winnipeg. The Devils still decided that starting him could lower their expected win probability, TSN reported.
Hellebuyck told reporters he made his case to coach Sheldon Keefe and Mehta, then said he understood their side. He has won all five of his starts since the trade, including a 23-save shutout in Toronto on Sunday, per NHL.com.
Jake Allen started instead and made 21 saves.
Mercer and Daws beat their old team
Mercer opened the scoring at 7:54 of the first with a wrist shot through traffic. Kyle Connor made it 2-0 on a two-man advantage when his pass deflected in off Brenden Dillon’s skate.
New Jersey answered fast in the second. Jesper Bratt and Cody Glass scored 44 seconds apart early in the period to tie it 2-2. The Devils also lost defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic to an apparent lower-body injury after a collision with Tyrel Bauer. Keefe said Kovacevic would get imaging.
Mercer broke the tie on a third-period power play at 11:58, finishing a backhand pass through the crease from Alex Iafallo. Connor added an empty-netter at 19:02, his second of the night.
Keefe didn’t hide it afterward. He said a bench minor penalty “cost us,” according to NHL.com.
How Winnipeg greeted Hellebuyck online
The warmup scene spread fast, before the puck even dropped. Bleacher Report’s hockey account posted video of the heavy boos as Hellebuyck skated out, and Barstool Sports shared the chants a short time later. Most of the anger came from the same place: a franchise goalie who asked out, skipped camp and then didn’t play in his return.
Some HEAVY BOO'S as Hellebuyck comes out for warmups 😳 pic.twitter.com/ZLCsfYaLkz
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 10, 2026
By the third period, the story online had flipped to what Winnipeg got back. Sportsnet and the Jets both pushed out Mercer’s second goal against his former team, the power-play winner that put the game away.
DAWSON MERCER SCORES HIS SECOND OF THE NIGHT AGAINST HIS FORMER TEAM 🫡 pic.twitter.com/MB2HeyfAEV
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 11, 2026
The numbers from a big night for the Jets
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Final | Jets 4, Devils 2 |
| Jets record | 8-8-3, four straight wins after an 0-7-2 skid |
| Devils record | 13-6-0, five-game win streak snapped |
| Mark Scheifele | 550th career assist, tied with Dale Hawerchuk and Blake Wheeler for second in franchise history |
| Scheifele and Connor | 66th goal together, most by a pair of teammates in Jets/Thrashers history |
| Josh Morrissey | Returned after missing 14 games, four shots in 24:06 |
The rematch is in New Jersey
For Winnipeg, the win may help turn the page. The Jets have won four in a row since a nine-game slide, and getting a goal-scorer and a winning goalie out of the trade on the same night won’t hurt the fan base’s mood.
For New Jersey, it’s one loss in a strong start. Hellebuyck is still unbeaten in a Devils uniform. Jets coach Scott Arniel pointed out that his team visits New Jersey in a couple of weeks, and that game should have the matchup fans wanted Tuesday: Hellebuyck in net against his old team.
For more coverage, see our NHL news page.
Sources: NHL.com, ESPN, TSN, ABC7 New York, The Hockey News, NHL.com, Elliotte Friedman, B/R Open Ice, Sportsnet
