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Devils to sit star goalie vs his former team over 'win probability,' leaving NHL fans bewildered

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Cite

Gaydos, R. (2026, November 9). Devils to sit star goalie vs his former team over 'win probability,' leaving NHL fans bewildered. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/devils-sit-star-goalie-vs-former-team-win-probability-leaving-nhl-fans-bewildered

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Fox News · collected 2026-11-09 · by Ryan Gaydos

Quick Summary

The New Jersey Devils have decided not to play their newly acquired star goalie Connor Hellebuyck in an upcoming game against his former team, the Winnipeg Jets, citing a "reduction in our expected win probability." General manager Sunny Mehta explained that despite Hellebyeuck’s desire to face his old team, the decision was made after extensive debate within the organization. This unusual reasoning has left fans puzzled and social media abuzz with confusion. The Devils are currently one of the top teams in the NHL, with a record of 13-5 this season.
Written by AI on 2026-11-09, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Connor Hellebuyck, the former Winnipeg Jets goaltender and three-time Vezina Trophy winner, will not play against his ex-team on Tuesday as scheduled. The New Jersey Devils announced this decision after Sunday's game in Toronto where Hellebuyck made 23 saves in a shutout win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Despite Hellebuyck's desire to face the Jets, the Devils' general manager Sunny Mehta stated that playing would reduce their chances of winning. The trade which sent Hellebuyck to the Devils on October 23 included forward Dawson Mercer, goaltender Nico Daws, and a second-round pick in the 2029 NHL draft. Hellebuyck had five seasons left on his seven-year, US$59.1 million contract extension when he requested the trade.

Written for “Devils' Hellebuyck Won't Play Tuesday” on 2026-11-09, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.
No political leaning scored for article 138510 · logged 2026-11-09

Story

Devils' Hellebuyck Won't Play Tuesday
Sports · 4 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Devils’ Hellebuyck won’t play Tuesday in Winnipeg Same event
Global News
Hedges 0 of 35 claims Outlet record 63/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
67/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
4
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-09 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Running correction rate · 14 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Ryan Gaydos
111 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
However, in our estimation, playing in this game would potentially give us a reduction in our expected win probability.
2026-11-09 · assertive framing · Devils to sit star goalie vs his former team over 'win probability,' leaving NHL fans bewildered
Maybe he sensed it, maybe he didn't, but
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He told the crowd at the Barclays Center the John Cena Classic will be held as part of a two-part "Monday Night Raw" on Dec. 14.
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 111 articles by Ryan Gaydos →

Topics

Devils NHL New Jersey The New Jersey Devils Winnipeg

Subjects

Hellebuyck PERSON · 5× Winnipeg ORG · 4× Devils ORG · 3× New Jersey GPE · 3× Connor Hellebuyck PERSON · 2× Canada GPE · 1× NHL ORG · 1× The New Jersey Devils ORG · 1× the Toronto Maple Leafs ORG · 1× the Winnipeg Jets ORG · 1×

Narrative

Hellebuyck said it would have been nice to play in Winnipeg again after the Jets traded him to the Devils last month for Dawson Mercer, Nico Daws and a 2029 second-round draft pick.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-09
However, in our estimation, playing in this game would potentially give us a reduction in our expected win probability.
2026-11-09 · Fox News
Devils to sit star goalie vs his former team over 'win probability,' leaving NHL fans bewildered · assertive framing

Claims (21 extracted, 0 hedged)

The New Jersey Devils emerged as one of the best teams in the NHL this season and beefed up their roster when they acquired goaltender Connor Hellebuyck from the Winnipeg Jets. asserted
they → emerge → Jets
The Devils shut out the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday, increasing the anticipation for a matchup on Tuesday between New Jersey and Winnipeg in Canada. asserted
Devils → shut → Canada
However, general manager Sunny Mehta shut down the possibility of Hellebuyck playing and gave a bizarre reason as to why. asserted
Hellebuyck → shut → reason
"This has been an organizational decision for us that we’ve debated at length," Mehta said. asserted
Mehta → debate → length
"Connor Hellebuyck was adamant that he felt a duty to play on Tuesday in Winnipeg. asserted
he → feel → Winnipeg
However, in our estimation, playing in this game would potentially give us a reduction in our expected win probability. asserted
playing → play → probability
"Even though Connor isn’t playing, at his request, we will coordinate a media availability after Tuesday’s morning skate at Canada Life Centre." asserted
we → play → Centre
Hellebuyck made 23 saves against Toronto in the 4-0 victory and will have a day of rest in between games. asserted
Hellebuyck → make → games
Instead, Jake Allen will likely get the nod in between the pipes because of a "reduction in our expected win probability." asserted
Allen → get → probability
As the kids say these days, "the math ain’t mathin’." asserted
math → say → days
Fans were just as confused by the statement. asserted
Fans → confuse → statement
Hellebuyck said it would have been nice to play in Winnipeg again after the Jets traded him to the Devils last month for Dawson Mercer, Nico Daws and a 2029 second-round draft pick. asserted
Jets → say → Mercer
"I know there’s a pretty sour taste in Winnipeg," Hellebuyck said. asserted
Hellebuyck → know → Winnipeg
"But I can only speak to my memories and my cherished moments in the city. asserted
I → speak → city
I’ve loved every part of my career there. asserted
I → love → career
However, I’m perceived, I’m going to choose love. asserted
I → perceive → love
New Jersey is 13-5 this season, sitting just four points (26) behind the Carolina Hurricanes (30) for first place in the Metropolitan Division. asserted
Jersey → sit → Division
The Boston Bruins are the only other team that have more points (27) than the Devils. asserted
that → have → Devils
Hellebuyck has yet to lose as a goaltender for New Jersey. asserted
Hellebuyck → have → Jersey
He has a 1.96 goals against average and makes 91.3% of his saves. asserted
He → have → saves
The Associated Press contributed to this report. asserted
Press → contribute → report
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