After years of stability behind Henrik Lundqvist, this past season was a mystery for the New York Rangers. With a shaky season behind him, will Ondrej Pavelec return?
After a long stint as a starter in Winnipeg, Ondrej Pavelec was slowly forced out of that role and then off the team. The Rangers picked him up on a one year deal, hoping he could continue a trend of success with backups. Instead Pavelec struggled mightily. In limited playing time the goaltender was subpar at best. He showed flashes, but they were few and far between. For the most part Pavelec didn’t produce nearly the way New York expected.
There was also an issue of playing time itself. Early starts during the season for Pavelec were poor and because of that his playing time suffered. Alain Vigneault didn’t have much trust in Pavelec.
While he had a few strong starts, those were usually followed by losing efforts. This pattern continued until the later portions of the season when Pavelec was eventually replaced by Alexandar Georgiev.
Pavelec’s brief tenure in New York was disappointing for all parties involved. Pavelec’s best days seem to be behind him and the Rangers experiment with him as backup was a failure. With Pavelec hitting the open market it will be interesting if the Rangers decide to bring him back.
Stats and Info
Age Entering Next Season: 31
Seasons With NYR: 1 year
Previous Cap Hit: $1.3 million
Games Played: 19
Win Loss Record: 4-9-1
GAA: 3.05
Save Percentage: .910
Projected Contract
1 year $1 million
I don’t think Pavelec is worth much of anything on the open market right now. I think it’s a 50/50 shot that he even gets a contract this upcoming season. The only two reasons he might are because he has plenty of experience in the league and that goaltenders are few and far between compared to other positions.
There isn’t a single team in the league that should offer Pavelec more than a year. Also, based on his performance last season with New York, his payment should go down as well.
What SHOULD Happen
The Rangers should forget about Pavelec and move on to other ideas for a backup. Whether that means Georgiev or an alternative option it shouldn’t matter for New York. Pavelec didn’t do anything this season that would make him attractive to the Rangers. Quite honestly he didn’t do anything to make himself more attractive to anyone in the NHL. What should happen is that Pavelec is left unsigned by the Rangers and the rest of the NHL will be left to decide if he is worth signing or not.
What WILL Happen
Exactly what should happen. The Rangers have no need for Pavelec and that will mean he doesn’t come back to the team this upcoming season. I don’t see the Rangers making a big push for Pavelec simply because they can go with an in house option that will be cheaper and better as well.
Next: What if the Rangers kept Yandle
Teams to Watch Out For
Buffalo Sabres- The current goaltender situation in Buffalo is Robin Lehner and Chad Johnson. That doesn’t breed much confidence at all. Not that adding Pavelec to the fray would make it a much more desirable situation, but Buffalo has a lot to figure out here. If they sign Pavelec they have three goaltenders they can mix and match with instead of two. Maybe the third goalie is the charm?
Carolina Hurricanes- Cam Ward is getting up there in age and the Scott Darling experiment hasn’t gone to plan. The Hurricanes were disappointing this season, largely in part to the uncertainty at goaltender. There has been plenty of shake up in the front office and coaching staff, so why not shake things up on the goaltender front as well. Much like Buffalo, Pavelec could land on a team that has a lot to think about at goaltender.