The New Jersey Devils GM put out a statement saying that Connor Hellebuyck would not start on Tuesday in his return to Winnipeg. While the decision is fine, the statement itself was a mistake.
Pucks and Pitchforks writer Nick Villano criticizes New Jersey Devils general manager Sunny Mehta for releasing an official statement announcing that goaltender Connor Hellebuyck will not start Tuesday against his former team, the Winnipeg Jets. While Villano agrees with resting the goaltender, he argues the public statement needlessly turned a routine rest day into an avoidable controversy ahead of Hellebuyck's Winnipeg return.
The Devils cited workload management and win probability analytics for benching Hellebuyck in favor of Jake Allen, noting Hellebuyck wanted to play. Villano contends that juxtaposing head coach Sheldon Keefe's workload explanation with Mehta's analytics statement muddies organizational messaging and overshadows Hellebuyck's franchise-record 5-0 start.
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