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Connor Hellebuyck called ‘coward’ as he’s mercilessly booed, trolled in Winnipeg return

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Cite

Arnold, C. (2026, November 11). Connor Hellebuyck called ‘coward’ as he’s mercilessly booed, trolled in Winnipeg return. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/11/10/sports/connor-hellebuyck-mercilessly-booed-trolled-in-winnipeg-return/

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-11-11 · by Christian Arnold

Quick Summary

Connor Hellebuyck faced loud boos and jeers from Winnipeg Jets fans during his return to Canada Life Centre just weeks after being traded to the New Jersey Devils. Fans chanted derogatory phrases like "Helle sucks!" and called him a coward, holding signs with mocking messages such as “Softer Than Charmin.” The game ended in a 4-2 win for the Jets, with some fans chanting to pull their goalie. Hellebuyck had previously stated that threats to his family were factors in his decision to leave Winnipeg, where he was drafted and made his NHL debut.
Written by AI on 2026-11-11, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On November 10, 2026, Connor Hellebuyck did not play against the Winnipeg Jets, despite being traded from them to the New Jersey Devils earlier that month. Despite making a shutout performance in New Jersey's game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday, where he stopped 23 shots, the Devils decided not to start him due to concerns over "expected win probability." Hellebuyck expressed disappointment but stated there were off-ice issues involving his family that influenced his decision to request a trade. Jets fans in Winnipeg booed him when he was introduced as a Devil ahead of the game. The move by the Devils sparked controversy and criticism, with some suggesting it was an overreliance on analytics rather than player morale or health factors.

Written for “Devils Sit Hellebuyck vs Jets” on 2026-11-11, grounded in this article and the 12 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 143770 · logged 2026-11-11

Story

Devils Sit Hellebuyck vs Jets
Sports · 13 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Toronto Sun
Hedges 1 of 31 claims Outlet record 95/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
13
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-11 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 18722 article(s) · 39 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 39 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Christian Arnold
167 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
The Jets, after their win, trolled the Devils a bit more in reference to New Jersey general manager Sunny Mehta’s statement earlier this week that said Hellebuyck wouldn’t be playing Tuesday because it gave the team a “reduction in our expected win probability.”
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Also by Christian Arnold
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 167 articles by Christian Arnold →

Topics

American Devils Jets New Jersey Winnipeg

Subjects

Hellebuyck PERSON · 8× Devils ORG · 5× Jets ORG · 5× Winnipeg GPE · 3× New Jersey GPE · 2× American NORP · 1× Connor Hellebuyck PERSON · 1× Helle PERSON · 1× John Tavares PERSON · 1× Long Island GPE · 1×

Narrative

From the moment he stepped onto the ice for warm-ups to the drop of the puck in Winnipeg’s 4-2 win, the fans inside Canada Life Centre on Tuesday gave Hellebuyck a piece of their minds following the American goaltender’s trade request, which ended with his move to the Devils on Oct. 23.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-11
The Jets, after their win, trolled the Devils a bit more in reference to New Jersey general manager Sunny Mehta’s statement earlier this week that said Hellebuyck wouldn’t be playing Tuesday because it gave the team a “reduction in our expected win probability.”

Claims (17 extracted, 0 hedged)

Connor Hellebuyck was greeted by boos and jeers from Jets fans during his return to Winnipeg just weeks after he was traded to the Devils. asserted
he → greet → Devils
From the moment he stepped onto the ice for warm-ups to the drop of the puck in Winnipeg’s 4-2 win, the fans inside Canada Life Centre on Tuesday gave Hellebuyck a piece of their minds following the American goaltender’s trade request, which ended with his move to the Devils on Oct. 23. asserted
which → step → Oct.
Loud boos greeted Hellebuyck when he took the ice for warmups prior to the Devils’ loss. asserted
he → greet → loss
The derision included a number of colorful chants in his direction. asserted
derision → include → direction
The jilted fans chanted “Helle sucks!” and “coward” at him while he went through his pregame routine on the ice. asserted
he → chant → ice
While it wasn’t quite the vitriolic or comical reception that John Tavares received when he returned to Long Island for the first time after leaving the Islanders to sign with the Maple Leafs in 2018, Hellebuyck’s welcome was far from warm. asserted
welcome → receive → 2018
When the game started, Jets fans chanted, “Where is Connor?” 20 seconds into the opening period. asserted
Connor → start → period
Dawson Mercer scored 7:54 into the first period against the Devils — Mercer was part of the trade that sent Hellebuyck to New Jersey — and later Jets fans chanted, “Pull your goalie.” asserted
fans → score → goalie
Social media posts also showed fans with signs directed toward Hellebuyck, with some of them reading, “Softer Than Charmin” and “Playoff Pylon.” asserted
some → show → Charmin
Ahead of the game, Hellebuyck spoke with reporters and indicated that it was alleged threats to his family that ultimately led to his desire to leave Winnipeg, which had selected him 130th overall in the 2012 NHL Draft and where he later made his NHL debut on Nov. 27, 2015. asserted
he → speak → Nov.
“I’ve been very connected with this community, and I’ve loved my time here, but there are a few moments that I don’t want to see happen again,” Hellebuyck told reporters. asserted
Hellebuyck → love → reporters
“It is more than just online death threats, and I’m going to ask you to respect my privacy and my family’s privacy. asserted
I → go → privacy
I won’t go deeper than that. asserted
I → go → that
“There was more that made me and my family uncomfortable on top of some uncertainty with my career. asserted
me → be → career
I felt that a change of scenery was what was best.” asserted
what → feel → scenery
The Jets, after their win, trolled the Devils a bit more in reference to New Jersey general manager Sunny Mehta’s statement earlier this week that said Hellebuyck wouldn’t be playing Tuesday because it gave the team a “reduction in our expected win probability.” asserted
it → troll → probability
“Expected Win Probability 100%,” the Jets wrote on X. asserted
Jets → write → X.
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