Ondrej Pavelec’s return to the NHL has been a successful one so far as he has reeled off a pair of wins for the Jets since being recalled last week. As Mike Sawatzky of the Winnipeg Free Press writes though, he’s not thinking ahead towards next season and if he could be more than just a short-term stopgap for Winnipeg:
“I’m not thinking about next year — at all. I don’t know what’s gonna happen. I’m gonna be a free agent, I guess, for the first time. I have no idea what I’m gonna do. There’s no point, there’s no reason to think about next year. Whatever happens, happens.”
Pavelec is in the final year of a five year, $19.5MM contract and while it’s unlikely he’ll be able to command a new deal near that same $3.9MM AAV, he should be able to catch on as a backup somewhere. Although the Jets have youngsters Connor Hellebuyck and Michael Hutchinson in the fold beyond this season, both have battled inconsistency which has led some to believe that a veteran number two would be a good idea for Winnipeg to play behind Hellebuyck. The 29 year old Pavelec should get a chance in these final few months to make his case that he could be that veteran.
Other notes from Winnipeg:
- The team is hoping high scoring rookie winger Patrik Laine will be available to play the Sharks on Tuesday, Sawatzky notes in a separate column. He has missed the last seven games after sustaining a concussion on January 7th against the Sabres. Head coach Paul Maurice wouldn’t say for sure if Laine will return but said he is “very, very close”.
- After a slow start that was compounded by a lower body injury that caused him to miss 14 games, left winger Mathieu Perreault is starting to round back into form, writes Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun. After recording just eight points in his first 25 games, he has picked up eight more in his last ten outings alongside Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler. Perreault is a popular choice to be left unprotected in June’s expansion draft and accordingly, some have wondered if the team will try to trade him even though he signed a four year, $16.5MM extension back in July. If he continues his current stretch over the next month, the Jets could have some options when it comes to moving him if they decided to go that route. [Update: Perreault sustained an upper body injury tonight against Anaheim, the team reports via Twitter.]
- 2016 first rounder (18th overall) Logan Stanley will miss the next four months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, the Windsor Spitfires (his junior team) announced. Not only will that end his regular season, it also should keep him out of the lineup through the playoffs and will leave his participation in the Memorial Cup in question as well. The Spitfires get an automatic entry into the Canadian junior tournament as they are the hosting team.