Hellebuyck, who spoke to the media following the game Sunday, reiterated Mehta's statement about him being adamant about playing in Winnipeg. He said he is "disappointed" but that he understands the team's decision.
He said he was looking forward to "playing there again, just facing the music, seeing the reaction. It'd be nice, but it's out of my hands."
"We definitely had a conversation and I told them my thoughts on it and they told me theirs, and at the end of the day I have to listen to them and I can only push so hard," Hellebuyck also said. "I can only push so hard. I was adamant that I want to play, but it is what it is."
Hellebuyck played 11 seasons with the Jets, winning the Vezina Trophy three times and the Hart Trophy once. However, the end of his time in Winnipeg was acrimonious, with the 33-year-old revealing prior to the start of the season that he asked for a trade despite still having five years remaining on a seven-year, $59.5 million contract he signed with the Jets on Oct. 9, 2023.
Hellebuyck was suspended by the Jets on Sept. 16 for failure to report to training camp. He was traded on the day his suspension was supposed to come to an end.
"I know there's a pretty sour taste in Winnipeg," Hellebuyck said. "I've heard that, but I can only speak to my memories and my cherished moments in the city, and I've loved every part of my career there. However I'm perceived I'm going to choose love and I'm going to choose to remember all the moments and the community coming together, all the relationships I made, being part of that community and all the good times I've had there."
Keefe cited the fact that Hellebuyck's start Sunday was his third in six nights, and that the team doesn't want to put him in a position to start four in eight, especially when the plan is for him to start both games against the Washington Capitals later in the week.
The Devils are home against the Capitals on Thursday and play in Washington on Saturday.
Hellebuyck is 5-0-0 with a 1.96 goals-against average and .913 save percentage with the Devils.
"As you know, in his words, he really felt it was his duty to go and play and all of that, but look at it from our end of it," Keefe said. "Tonight was his third game in six nights. He's been at this for less than two weeks with us. And after we finish this road game in Winnipeg we're going to go home to two big divisional games waiting for us. So, I understand the sensitivity to the situation when you're hyper-focused on that game as the Jets fans would be, understandably.
“From our perspective, when you zoom out, this is a goaltender that's not going to play every game of the season. You're always looking for times to give him a night off. The schedule falling the way that it does it just made sense. In talking with Sunny, it was pretty clear it wasn't really up for discussion because of all those reasons."
Despite not being the starter, Hellebuyck will hold a press conference at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday, when he expects to address his reasons for asking for a trade, finally revealing in as much detail as he feels necessary why he wanted out of Winnipeg.
He said he has been thinking about what he will say beyond the letter he wrote to the Jets fans and released on his Instagram account Wednesday.
"It's an extremely complex decision and no one has really nailed it on the head because there's so many things that go into the decision," Hellebuyck said. "But there's also the thought that the media is the one that wins if we come out and just start speaking negatives on each other. I still got some time. Like I said, Tuesday is where I'll address all that, but I have nothing but respect for the organization and respect for the guys in the Jets locker room, what they're doing there in the city, the communities there. I loved every part of it. I know it's unfortunate things ended the way they did, but we'll talk about it Tuesday."
