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Ondrej Pavelec

Morning Transactions: Blue Jackets, Jets, Canucks

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News and notes from around the NHL this morning:

  • The Blue Jackets have added winger Oliver Bjorkstrand to the roster on an emergency recall, the team announced (via Twitter). The 21-year-old has compiled one assist and six penalty minutes in five games for Columbus this season. Down in Cleveland, the former third-rounder has scored 14 goals and collected 12 assists in 37 games. Bjorkstrand participated in the AHL All-Star Classic earlier this season.
  • The Jets have recalled defenseman Julian Melchiori from their AHL affiliate and placed goalie Ondrej Pavelec on the injured reserve, the team announced (via Twitter). Melchiori has played four games for the big-league club this season, giving him a total of 16 career NHL games under his belt. In 32 games for Manitoba this season, the 25-year-old has posted two goals and four assists. Meanwhile, Pavelec was placed on the IR retroactive to February 7th. In eight starts this season, the goalie has gone 4-4 with an .888 save percentage.
  • The Canucks have recalled forward Brendan Gaunce from the Utica Comets, the team announced (via Twitter). The 2012 first-round pick has played in 47 games for the Canucks this season, collecting only five assists. As a rookie during the 2015-2016 season, the 22-year-old scored a single goal in 20 games.

Trade Candidates: Ondrej Pavelec

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With the trade deadline quickly approaching, we will be profiling several players in the weeks ahead that are likely to be dealt by March 1st.

Ondrej Pavelec entered the league with much fanfare, but never developed into an elite goaltender. He’s had sparks of success—including 2014-15 where he posted a 2.28 GAA and a .920 SV%—but he’s regressed that past two years to a borderline AHL goaltender. Maybe Pavelec needs a change of scenery to reboot his career, but his current stats do not provide much optimism for increased performance.

Contract

Pavelec is in the final year of an escalating base salary deal averaging $3.9MM a year. He will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

2016-17

Bumpy is the best way to describe Pavelec’s season so far. In a surprisingly but not entirely shocking move, the Winnipeg Jets sent Pavelec down to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose to start the season. The Czech goaltender stayed in the AHL until Winnipeg finally called him back up on January 16th. He’s been the team’s starter ever since, but his numbers leave Winnipeg wanting more. Through his eight starts this season Pavelec has an .888 SV% and a 3.55 GAA. Unfortunately for Winnipeg, however, its other two goaltenders—Connor Hellebuyck and Michael Hutchinson—aren’t faring much better.

Season Stats

NHL: 8 GP, 4-4-0, .888 SV%, 3.55 GAA, 0 SO
AHL: 18 GP, 8-7-2, .917 SV%, 2.78 GAA, 0 SO

Suitors

Any potential suitors for Pavelec are ones in the market for cheap goaltending insurance. Whatever potential Pavelec may have harbored over the past two years is almost surely gone, and GMs see Pavelec’s current stats as indicative of his future performance. Nonetheless, one only has to look at Devan Dubnyk’s resurgence for hope that Pavelec turns it around elsewhere. Written off after underperforming in Edmonton and Arizona, Dubnyk joined the Minnesota Wild and immediately became one of the league’s best goaltenders.

Pavelec is a pending UFA which should ease the risk for teams looking for goaltending services. Teams will not be on the hook for Pavelec after this year, and the allure of goaltender insurance is strong. GMs know that losing your starting goaltender spells disaster for a team’s chances at a deep playoff run, so a cheap insurance option may appeal to some.

Likelihood Of A Trade

The goalie market is stagnant. Ben Bishop, Marc-Andre Fleury, and Jimmy Howard all remain with their teams, and those dominos have to fall one way or another before teams take a flyer on Pavelec. Pavelec could be the cheaper option for most teams, but it’s unclear whether his play will improve this season. The Jets may have to bite the bullet and accept anything they can get for Pavelec before they lose him to free agency.

Ondrej Pavelec Out With Injury

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After starting eight of the Winnipeg Jets’ nine games since he was called up from the AHL in mid-January, Ondrej Pavelec will take a seat once again. After leaving Tuesday night’s game against the Minnesota Wild, coach Paul Maurice confirmed today that Pavelec has suffered a lower body injury. The Winnipeg Sun’s Ken Wiebe reports that Pavelec is expected to be out “about a week”.

With Pavelec back out of the picture, the Jets will return to their young duo of Connor Hellebuyck and Michael Hutchinson for the next week and beyond. When Pavelec was recalled on January, Winnipeg made the decision not to subject the 26-year-old Hutchinson to waivers and to instead carry three goalies. However, in the last month, Hutchinson has not made a single appearance, while Hellebuyck had just one start before relieving Pavelec on Tuesday. The pair have been less than stellar this season anyway; Hellebuyck has been the better of the two with 17 wins, a .909 SV%, and 2.78 GAA in 36 appearances, while Hutchinson has just four wins and a ghastly .894 SV% and 3.23 GAA in 20 appearances.

Despite getting nearly all the ice time in net since his resurrection from the minors, Pavelec has not been all that successful either. In fact, he’s actually been worse than Hellebuyck and Hutchinson. Pavelec currently has a 4-4 record with a horrid .888 SV% and 3.55 GAA. Granted, that is only through eight games, but the Jets may actually be better suited with Pavelec injured and out of the lineup. Winnipeg has just 54 points on the season through 56 contests, which puts them in fifth in the Central Division. While they sit just five points back of the Calgary Flames for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference, they have played two or more games than all three teams chasing them for that berth: the Los Angeles Kings, Dallas Stars, and Vancouver Canucks. The playoffs seem like a long shot for the Jets, and going forward it is Hellebuyck that is the goalie of the future. Increased play time for the young keeper down the stretch rather than the ten-year veteran and impending free agent would be the logical move. Though Pavelec has dedicated his career to the Thrashers/Jets franchise, his preseason demotion and poor play at the NHL level in 2016-17 clearly signal that his time is over. Winnipeg would be better served long-term to give Hellebuyck the majority of starts for the remainder of the season.

Jets Notes: Pavelec, Laine, Perreault, Stanley

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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.

5 Key Stories: 1/16/2017 – 1/22/2017

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As millions of American anxiously await to find out who will represent their respective conferences in Super Bowl LI, don’t forget to check in on all of the recent news and rumors involving the NFL on our sister site, Pro Football Rumors.

The action is starting to pick up in the NHL, though it’s still relatively quiet compared to what we expect next month. Here is a roundup of the five key stories from the week ending on 1/22/2017.

Islanders Dismiss Capuano – Sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, the New York Islanders relieved head coach Jack Capuano of his duties this week and inserted AGM Doug Weight into the position on an interim basis. Capuano spent parts of seven campaigns behind the Islanders bench and guided the club to the second-round of the playoffs for the first time in more than two decades just last season.

Claude Julien’s Job in Jeopardy? – With rumors circulating as to the job security of longtime bench boss Claude Julien, the Boston Bruins called a press conference to address the situation. While nothing definitive came out of it, the belief is that Julien will maintain his position at least through the season, barring a major late-season collapse.

Clarke MacArthur Will Not Play This Season – Veteran winger Clarke MacArthur, who has yet to appear in a game this season after suffering a concussion during training camp, has not progressed enough in his recovery and a return has been ruled out by Ottawa team doctors. This will represent what is essentially a second consecutive lost season for MacArthur, who only suited up for four contests a year ago due to yet another concussion. It’s also quite possible this is the end of the line for the 10-year veteran.

Hawks Interested In Tatar, Nyquist – In search of a top-six winger to slot next to Jonathan Toews, the Chicago Blackhawks have reportedly expressed interest in Detroit forwards Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar. The report contradicts the notion that the club would restrict its pursuit to rentals or players on ELC’s. The Hawks have a number of rather large commitments already on their books for 2017-18 but apparently they would still be willing to take on a player with control beyond the current campaign. Nyquist has two seasons left on his deal with an AAV of $4.75MM while Tatar will be a RFA this summer and likely in position for a raise on his $2.75MM cap charge.

Winnipeg Recalls Ondrej Pavelec – Desperate for consistently competent play between the pipes, the Winnipeg Jets recalled deposed started Ondrej Pavelec from the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. The Jets decided had waived the veteran net minder just prior to the beginning of the campaign and assigned him to the minors when he went unclaimed. Now the team is hopeful he can provide the Jets with quality play and bolster their pursuit of a playoff berth.

Snapshots: Sharks, Capuano, Pavelec

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News and notes from around the NHL this evening:

  • The San Jose Sharks have placed sophomore Joonas Donskoi on injured reserve, reports CSN’s Kevin Kurz. Donski will miss his third straight game with an upper body injury, but Kurz indicates that the injury is not serious. Donskoi is off to a slow start this season with only 6G and 8A in 41 games. According to the Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka, the Finnish forward continues to skate with the team, but does not want to return to early lest he aggravates the injury. The Sharks recalled forwards Ryan Carpenter, Barclay Goodrow, and defenseman Tim Heed from the AHL San Jose Barracuda. The trio of recalls suggest another injury elsewhere in the lineup.
  • Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman thinks that recently-fired New York Islanders head coach’s demise stems partly from bad goaltending. He also states that the Isles did not want to wait until the end of the year because of an anticipated hot coaching market. The Vegas Golden Knights are also looking for a head coach, and the Isles hope they can get a jump on the competition. Finally, it allows the team to evaluate its talent under a different voice. Players can bloom or wilt under a certain coach, so the change will allows the Isles front office to see which players are worth keeping.
  • Winnipeg Jets goaltender Ondrej Pavelec will start Wednesday night against the Arizona Coyotes. Pavelec was relegated to the AHL after a poor start this season. While his numbers haven’t drastically improved, Winnipeg’s goaltending situation is dire and the team hopes Pavelec can right the ship. Pavelec earned a 2.78 GAA and a .917 SV% in 18 games for the Minnesota Moose—good for 28th and 13th in the league, respectively.

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.

Garrioch’s Latest: Vegas Coaching Candidates, Leafs, Kings, Hanzal

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The NHL’s roster freeze kicks in tonight and as Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun writes, it’s likely that there won’t be any sort of significant movement between now and then.  Multiple league executives told Garrioch that the sense is that teams are content to get through the holidays before really starting to entertain any potential trades.

Part of the problem right now is that cap space is at a premium for a lot of teams (16 teams either have someone on LTIR or are less than $1MM under the cap which doesn’t allow for much wiggle room) while only a handful of teams could be classified as sellers as things currently sit in the standings.  Add those two elements together and it’s not difficult to figure out why the trade market is quiet at this stage.

Garrioch also provides some other notes from around the league:

  • The Vegas Golden Knights are looking at former Philadelphia head coach Craig Berube (currently the head coach with AHL Chicago) and current Montreal associate coach Kirk Muller as potential options to be their inaugural bench boss. Garrioch expects that GM George McPhee will be looking for a good communicator to work with their roster and both of those coaches fit that bill.  He also suggests Rick Bowness, the associate coach in Tampa Bay, as a potential option and notes that his experience with an expansion team (Ottawa) would be an asset.
  • Add the Toronto Maple Leafs to the list of teams looking for an impact defenseman. The problem for the Leafs (and any other team) is that as many as half the teams around the league are looking for blueline help.  Given where Toronto is in the standings as well as where they are in their rebuilding process, it’s more than likely that they’d be looking for a longer-term fit than a rental player.
  • The Kings are looking to add another goaltender with Jonathan Quick still out for several months but haven’t discussed Ondrej Pavelec with the Jets since the GM meetings. Ottawa’s Andrew Hammond was also on their radar a while back but doesn’t appear to be now.  GM Dean Lombardi told reporters last week that he won’t overpay to bring in another netminder.  They have about $1.5MM in cap space at the moment per CapFriendly.
  • Arizona has been looking to move center Martin Hanzal but teams remain unsure about what the Coyotes are looking to get in a return. Hanzal, a pending unrestricted free agent, has 10 points in 26 games this season and would slide in as a third option on a lot of teams.  Garrioch notes that the sense is that the price will involve a quality prospect and at least a second round pick if a deal gets done.  With a cap hit of $3.1MM, Hanzal is likely to be one of the cheaper impact rental players on the block which should help draw interest from several teams.

Jonathan Quick Out Until Mid-February, Kings Not Willing To Overpay For Goaltender

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12:45pm: Lombardi is now telling Elliott that he misspoke today and though the worst case is still March, he actually expects Quick back in mid-February. While this lines up closer to what Sutter said on Monday, it still is a long-time for Quick to be sidelined.

11:45pm: The continuing saga of Jonathan Quick got another chapter today, as Los Angeles Kings GM Dean Lombardi told Helene Elliott of the LA Times that he’d be out until March. This comes after head coach Darryl Sutter said just two days ago that it’d be a month before the next step was even revealed.

Lombardi also told Elliott that he’s “not willing to throw the kitchen sink” at his goaltending situation, meaning that he doesn’t want to part with important assets to fix it. The team has been riding Peter Budaj this season to mixed success, as the 34-year old started hot but has struggled recently. Last night Budaj allowed four goals on 22 shots, marking four out of five games where he’s recorded a save percentage under .900. Jeff Zatkoff, brought in this offseason to be the backup, has struggled with injury and ineffectiveness himself, carrying an .882 save percentage through Wednesday.

The Kings, 14-12-2, are sitting fifth in the Pacific Division just outside a wild card spot but are in danger of slipping further and further should they not fix their goaltending situation. If Budaj can get back to the level he started the season at, perhaps the team would not need to find a solution outside the organization.

While there are talented options on the trade market – namely, Ben Bishop and Jimmy Howard – the Kings would have to take on a large amount of salary or give up substantial assets to get them. Though the team has a good amount of cap space currently due to Quick’s designation on LTIR, the team would be left unable to make any additional moves at the deadline for a playoff run, or in trouble should Quick make a return any earlier than expected.

A lesser option – like Ondrej Pavelec or Jonathan Bernier – comes with substantial risks as well and may not be any more effective than the Budaj-Zatkoff duo in the long run. For the Kings, it’s likely a game of trying to improve the team in front of them than spending assets for an answer in net.

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.

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