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Jets Recall Ondrej Pavelec

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Having reached their limits in regards to their recent goaltending troubles, the Winnipeg Jets have decided to turn back the clock in net. The team announced today that they have recalled veteran goalie Ondrej Pavelec from the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, returning to the man who held the starter position for the organization for years prior to 2016-17. For now, the team will carry three goalies as it tries to right the ship this season, starting with getting better results from it’s keepers.

When the Jets placed Pavelec on waivers ahead of the start of the 2016-17 season and then subsequently sent him down to the AHL, it marked the end of an era for the team, or so we thought. Pavelec was a 2005 second-round pick of the Atlanta Thrashers, who worked his way up through the organization and made his NHL debut just two years later in 2007-08. By 2009-10, Pavelec was the Thrashers’ starter and remained as such through the move to Winnipeg. It was not until last season, when backup Michael Hutchinson was outplaying him and young Connor Hellebuyck began fighting for play time that Pavelec’s role began to decrease. The rise of Hutchinson had been apparent, as the young goalie had been very impressive in just a few starts in 2013-14 and then posted a .914 save percentage and 2.39 goals against average in 38 games as a rookie in 2014-15. Hellebuyck’s ascent was equally predictable, as he was one of the Jets’ top prospects coming out of UMass-Lowell and showed nothing but promise early on in his pro career. Making the decision to move on from Pavelec was even easier for Winnipeg when considering his body of work. Although the Czech keeper had been the top option in goal for six straight years heading into this season, his career has been far from high-quality. Only once, in 2014-15, has Pavelec finished with a save percentage above .915 and a goals against average above 2.70. Those are barely even replacement-level numbers for an NHL goalie. Then, in 2014-15, when Pavelec looked to be taking the the step toward stardom by posting a .920 SV% and 2.28 GAA and helping the Jets earn a playoff berth, he collapsed in the postseason, allowing 15 goals in a quick four-game sweep. Without a history of success, the team’s ties to it’s former starter were not all that strong to begin with.

The choice to go with Hellebuyck and Hutchison and send Pavelec packing this season was one that faced almost no scrutiny. The Jets top priority was (and still is) the development of their young goalies, particularly Hellebuyck, and an expensive veteran with poor numbers like Pavelec was simply not needed… until now. The play of the Jets’ current duo has been costing the team wins of late. Hellebuyck has a .907 SV% and 2.82 GAA in 34 games this season and has looked especially tired and sloppy recently, having been pulled in back-to-back starts, while Hutchison has done a complete turnaround from just two years ago, with an .894 SV% and 3.23 GAA in 20 games as one of the league’s worst goalies in 2016-17. Meanwhile in Manitoba, Pavelec has been putting up numbers that match his career output, which is to say he’s been just okay. In 18 games with the Moose, Pavelec has 8 wins, a .917 SV%, and a 2.78 GAA. However, it’s easy to believe that the 29-year-old, who is still collecting pay on the final year of his five-year, $19.5MM deal signed back in 2012, has not been putting in a full effort in the minors and could potentially improve in his return to the NHL. Winnipeg certainly hopes so, as they need the veteran to stop the bleeding and give their other options some rest. Despite being on a four-game losing streak and without a winning streak of more than two games all season long, the Jets are tied with the Dallas Stars for fifth in the Central Division and are still within reach of a playoff spot if they can turn their season around in the second half.

To make room for Pavelec on the roster, and rather than expose Hutchison to waivers, the Jets also announced that they have placed defenseman Ben Chiarot on waivers. Chiarot sustained an upper body injury last week and has yet to play since. The move opens up a roster space, at least while he recovers, so that the Jets can sort out how they want to balance having three goalies on the roster. The practice has not worked out well for teams like the Calgary Flames and New York Islanders in recent years, but Winnipeg hopes depth in net is the key to all of their problems.

West Notes: Anisimov, Hendricks, Jets

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At Chicago Blackhawks practice today there were some notable absences, including one Artem Anisimov. Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune reports that Anisimov is questionable for the next two games with an undisclosed injury he suffered on Wednesday night. When pressed, head coach Joel Quenneville would not comment on whether it was the concussion spotters who removed the forward.

If Anisimov isn’t able to go, Nick Schmaltz or Marcus Kruger would move up to the second line, while Vincent Hinostroza will figure back into the lineup on Friday regardless of the health of the young center. Hinostroza will play wing however, meaning someone would have to move to the middle or come out of the lineup.

  • In Edmonton, head coach Todd McLellan gives an update on injured forward Matt Hendricks. Though he skated with the team today, it was more of a “rehab skate”. McLellan admits that Hendricks is “probably the closest” out of the group of injured players, but still not ready to get back into the lineup.  Edmonton currently has a number of players on injured reserve waiting to return to the ice.
  • Though he’s now signed and practicing with the team, Winnipeg Jets’ defenceman Jacob Trouba will not play tonight. The young blueliner stayed late at practice to get some extra work, and try to get himself into game shape for the rest of the season. His contract holdout ended on Monday.
  • Connor Hellebuyck will start again tonight for the Jets, his fourth game in a row, according to Ken Weibe of the Winnipeg Sun. 2-2 in those four games, Hellebuyck is starting to stake his claim as the Jets No. 1 goaltender. With the struggles of Michael Hutchinson to start the year, and the demotion of Ondrej Pavelec, the door is open for Hellebuyck to run with the job and establish himself as a starter in the NHL at just 23 years of age.

Training Camp Battles: Jets, Blue Jackets, Caggiula, Chabot

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Jets coach Paul Maurice isn’t ruling out carrying three goalies (Ondrej Pavelec, Michael Hutchinson, and Connor Hellebuyck) to start the season, writes Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun.  Hellebuyck is viewed as Winnipeg’s goalie of the future but is the only waiver exempt goalie of the three.  It’s uncommon but not rare for teams to carry three (the Islanders did for the bulk of last year) as not only does it mean that one is in the press box every night, it also prevents the team from carrying another extra skater which is often more desirable.

Pavelec is entering the final year of his contract which carries a cap hit of $3.9MM.  However, he struggled last year with a save percentage of just .904 with a GAA of 2.78 which would make it very difficult to trade him.

Hutchinson, meanwhile, signed a two year deal this offseason with a more manageable cap charge of $1.15MM.  While his numbers weren’t much better than Pavelec’s last year (a slightly worse GAA while being three points higher in save percentage), he likely slots in as the backup moving forward and doesn’t appear to be a candidate to be traded.

If they do keep all three up to start, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Winnipeg shuffle Hellebuyck back and forth between their AHL affiliate, who plays out of the same area as the Jets.

Other training camp battles to follow:

  • Still with goaltenders, there is a battle brewing for the number two job with Columbus, notes Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. Sergei Bobrovsky is the surefire starter but incumbent Curtis McElhinney plus youngsters Anton Forsberg and Joonas Korpisalo are both in the mix as well.  Of the three, only the 33 year old McElhinney would have to clear waivers.  Forsberg has had the best preseason but if the team decides that it’s best for their young players to play more in the AHL than dress as the backup with the big club, they may opt to keep the veteran around to start the season and see if one of the youngsters forces his way into the role midseason or as a spot starter.
  • Edmonton rookie center Drake Caggiula has turned heads at camp, writes Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun. The Oilers signed the small but highly coveted college UFA late last season and he has made a run at a roster spot.  Tychkowski opines that his strong play could allow the team to bump Leon Draisaitl up to the wing to further strengthen their second line.
  • 19 year old defenseman Thomas Chabot has made the opening Ottawa roster, according to a tweet from his junior team in Saint John.  Chabot was Ottawa’s top pick in 2015 (18th overall) and had 45 points in 47 games at the QMJHL level last season.  He’s eligible to play in nine NHL games before burning the first year of his entry-level contract.

Central Notes: Wiercioch, Fleischmann, Jets Goalies

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The biggest hockey headline out of Colorado this summer was the unexpected departure of head coach and VP of operations Patrick Roy. Mike Chambers of The Denver Post told PHR in an earlier interview that his belief was that Roy insisted on acquiring a top defenseman this summer, perhaps at the cost of one of their top young forwards, but that GM Joe Sakic and his “support staff” wanted to stick with the core. In fact, the only blue line addition of note was the signing of free agent Patrick Wiercioch, who wore out his welcome in Ottawa and was not qualified as a RFA. But as Chambers writes, Weircioch may come to Colorado with little fanfare but his skill set is exactly what the Avalanche needs.

Wiercioch is a big defenseman – listed at 6-foot-5, 202 pounds – who can move the puck and contribute on the power play. Chambers also notes that the five-year veteran is a quality stick-handler and passer, which will hopefully help the team’s transition game. According to Chambers, Wiercioch was looking for a fresh start after five mostly disappointing seasons in Ottawa, and is looking forward to again playing in Colorado, where he played his college hockey for the University of Denver.

“Even before the trade deadline we were talking about what our avenues were. We both kind of decided if nothing were to happen, it’s not the end of the world because I have a wife and kid and it’s a tough transition to pick up and move for eight weeks.”

“But going into the summer I think we were both ready for the next chapter — for their organization and my career as well. It ended up being Colorado. When we looked at the options and the offers with more money, this was the franchise I really wanted to come play for. I really wanted to be excited about the opportunity here.”

Colorado agree to a one-year deal with Wiercioch worth $800K after which he will again become a RFA, thus giving the Avalanche additional contractual control. Wiercioch may not be the big name Roy wanted but he’ll have a tremendous opportunity to play a significant role for the Avalanche and could end up being a nice free agent bargain.

Other notes from the NHL’s Central Division:

  • As we noted yesterday, Tomas Fleischmann, who had agreed to a PTO with Minnesota, failed his physical. Mike Russo of the Star Tribune provides a further update saying the Czech-born forward will not be attending camp with the Wild, according to GM Chuck Fletcher. Neither head coach Bruce Boudreau nor Fletcher specified what issue caused the failed physical though Russo speculated it might be a recurrence of blood clots that Fleischmann had been diagnosed with in the past. Fletcher said about the veteran winger: “He’s such a good person, it’s unfortunate. So I hope he catches on somewhere else. It’s just a disappointment. I like him enough that I want to see him succeed somewhere.” Russo inferred from these comments that whatever the issue, it doesn’t seem as if it would necessarily keep Fleischmann from playing elsewhere, if another opportunity presents itself.
  • Ondrej Pavelec and young Connor Hellebuyck are expected to compete for the starters job between the pipes for the Jets this season. Both goalies participated in the World Cup of Hockey – Pavelec for the Czech Republic and Hellebuyck as part of Team North America – and say that experience has helped them as they prepare to battle for the #1 job, writes Mitchell Clinton for the Jets team site on NHL.com. Pavelec, who finished with a disappointing 90.4% save percentage in 33 games – 31 of which were starts – and would appear to be behind Hellebuyck entering camp. The rookie, who was a two-year starter at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, made 26 starts for the Jets and recorded a save percentage of 91.8%. Michael Hutchinson, who has started 68 contests over the last two seasons, is under contract with Winnipeg for two more years and is a solid backup should the Jets choose Hellebuyck as the starter and find a way to move Pavelec’s contract.

 

 

2016-17 Season Preview: Winnipeg Jets

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With the NHL season just weeks away, PHR is looking at each team, in-depth. Today: the Winnipeg Jets.

Last Season: 35-39-8 (78 points), 7th place in the Central Division. Did not qualify for the playoffs.

Cap Space Remaining: $9.37MM  via CapFriendly.

Key Newcomers: Patrik Laine (LW/ RW) – NHL Draft (2nd overall in 2016); Shawn Matthias(LW) – free agency (Colorado); Kyle Connor (C/ LW) – NHL Draft (17th overall in 2015)

Key Departures: none

Key RFAs: Jacob Trouba – The two sides appear far apart on everything: money, term, and usage. Right now, Trouba is blocked on the right side by Dustin Byfuglien (who is set to begin a new five-year extension worth $7.6MM per season) and Tyler Myers. It will be interesting to see how the Jets proceed; they have the salary space to sign him but also have depth at the position, which gives them the upper hand. There has been some trade rumors surrounding Trouba, but those have been repeatedly shot down by those who cover the team.

Player to Watch: Patrik Laine – The Jets lucked out at the draft lottery, jumping for 6th overall to second and the chance to take Laine. There was even talk of the Maple Leafs selecting Laine over Auston Matthews, but that never materialized. Laine has been compared to Alex Ovechkin for his explosive release. Laine should be able to step in immediately and give the Jets a great second line. Expect 20+ goals and plenty of flash.

Key Storyline: Can the Jets young core avoid growing pains? With Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, Laine, and Trouba all expected to play big roles this season, will they be able to use their skill to overcome relative inexperience? And in net, can one of Ondrej Pavelec, Michael Hutchinson, or Connor Hellebuyck step up and take over the number one job? The three netminders split the net pretty evenly last season, so the door is open for one to grab the reigns and run with it.

Jets’ Depth Chart

Backup Goalie Options For Toronto

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After trading Jonathan Bernier to the Ducks earlier this week, the Maple Leafs are in the market for a new backup goalie.  Head coach Mike Babcock told reporters that they’re looking for a “good pro,” implying that they’re looking for an experienced veteran to work behind 26 year old Frederik Andersen.

Unfortunately for Toronto, there aren’t many quality veterans available in free agency.  There are four NHL free agents with at least 100 games of experience in Jhonas Enroth, Anders Lindback, Karri Ramo, and Ben Scrivens.  However, all four of those players have either struggled in recent years or are considerably undersized for the position (Enroth) leading many to assume the team will ultimately trade for a backup instead.  With that in mind, here are some potential veteran trade candidates for the Leafs.

Thomas Greiss (New York I.) – This past week, the Islanders re-signed J-F Berube giving them three goalies on one-way deals.  Jaroslav Halak is the clear #1 while the fact they are keeping Berube around suggests that management is high on his potential.  That leaves Greiss as potentially the odd man out.  Greiss is coming off the best season of his career plus a strong playoff run so the asking price should be somewhat high.  However, the Leafs would be getting an above average backup and would give themselves two quality options between the pipes each and every night.

Curtis McElhinney (Columbus) – The Blue Jackets have youngster Joonas Korpisalo waiting in the wings who handled himself quite well in 31 NHL games last season.  McElhinney is coming off a down season but has been a reliable backup in previous years.  Considering Columbus is looking to get younger, the asking price here wouldn’t be terribly high and would allow the Leafs to add a short-term fix while they let youngsters Garret Sparks and Antoine Bibeau battle it out in the minors for another year.

Ondrej Pavelec (Winnipeg) – After trading a bad contract in Bernier away, it wouldn’t make a lot of sense on the surface to turn around and trade for another one in Pavelec.  However, the Leafs have a couple of similarly-priced deals in Milan Michalek and Colin Greening that they could potentially flip to offset the salary.  A deal like this would give the Leafs someone that could slide into a #1 role if Andersen gets hurt while Winnipeg would free up a spot for Connor Hellebuyck to join the NHL team on a full-time basis.

Failing that, a trade for Michael Hutchinson from Winnipeg could be another possibility.  While he doesn’t have a ton of NHL experience, he has seen action in at least 30 NHL games in each of the last two seasons and dealing him away would allow the Jets to move Hellebuyck up full-time as well.

There aren’t a lot of veteran netminders out there for the Leafs but they still should be able to add one without much difficulty between now and the start of training camp in September.

Jets Re-Sign Michael Hutchinson

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The Jets have signed backup goaltender Michael Hutchinson to a two year deal, the team announced.  The deal will carry a cap hit of $1.15MM. According to CapFriendly, it is a one-way deal worth $1MM the first year and $1.3MM the second.

Last season, the 26 year old played in 30 games with Winnipeg, posting a 9-15-3 record with a 2.83 GAA and a .907 SV%.  Those numbers were down from his career averages, a 2.53 GAA and a .912 SV% in 71 career NHL contests.

Winnipeg has a bit of a goaltending logjam on their hands as things stand for next season.  Ondrej Pavelec has one year left on his contract at $3.9MM while prospect Connor Hellebuyck showed last year that he’s ready for regular NHL duty, posting a 2.35 GAA and a ,918 SV% while filling in for the injured Pavelec last season.  However, Hellebuyck is still exempt from waivers so barring a Pavelec trade, it would seem likely that he will be AHL-bound to start next season.

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