Connor Hellebuyck addressed Winnipeg media on Tuesday for the first time since demanding a trade, telling reporters that concerns for his family motivated his decision to leave the Jets after 11 seasons.
“With all the uncertainty I was experiencing, there [were] some moments and some things that happened to my family that, for me, crossed the line,” he said. “And as a husband and a father, I felt made that decision very certain that I needed to be a good husband, a good father, and do what’s best for my family and my career.”
Hellebuyck went public with his trade request in late August before opting to sit out of training camp, beginning a weeks-long saga that saw Winnipeg suspend him without pay. The Jets eventually dealt Hellebuyck to New Jersey on October 23, and Tuesday was set to be Hellebuyck’s first game back in Winnipeg until the Devils announced he would not play.
When asked, Hellebuyck declined to specify the exact nature of what happened to his family, though he noted that career uncertainty also contributed to his decision.
“I don’t want to try to ruin the relationship I have with the city, because I’m not going to judge a few moments, or I’m not going to project a few moments on the entire city. I’ve been very connected with this community, and I’ve loved my time here,” he said. “There are a few moments that I don’t want to see happen again, and it is more than just online death threats. And I’m please going to ask you to respect my privacy and my family’s privacy. I won’t go deeper than that…On top of some uncertainty with my career, I felt that a change in scenery was what was best.”
He later added, “There comes a time in your life where you have to choose to be a husband and a father first and then do what’s best for your career.”
Hellebuyck also deferred when asked if he had evidence his family’s harassment was coming from within Winnipeg itself.
“I feel like the media will probably eat me alive regardless of what I say,” he said. “So I feel like if I answer that question, it’s pinning someone against each other. And I don’t want this to be about that. I’ve made my decision. I’ve made it clear. And I’ve sacrificed a lot to live by that decision.”
The desire for familial privacy also apparently led Hellebuyck not to share evidence of threats with the Jets, who he acknowledges “would do whatever it took to help” in that situation.
“My family is a very private family, and we handle our business very privately,” he said. “And I know from the outside looking in, you can say, ‘Oh, you did this wrong, you did that wrong.’ And maybe we did. We’re human. We might make mistakes along the way, but the way we handled it is the way that we wanted to handle it and how we’re going to continue to handle it with privacy.”
Though Hellebuyck repeatedly professed his gratitude for both Winnipeg and the Jets organization, he’s faced backlash from both the team and its fans for his exit. Head coach Scott Arniel said Monday that Hellebuyck “gave up on us,” a comment that Hellebuyck acknowledged “hurts” to hear. He knows plenty of fans already have their minds made up on him as a consequence of his decision.
“I’m not going to tell anyone how they should feel, how their emotions should play,” he said. “To each their own. To the people that feel that I’ve been disloyal, well, there’s also a lot that I was not expecting to happen, go on throughout this contract. And the day that I said I was a Jet for life, I meant it. But I also didn’t foresee the future that was going to happen.”
