The New York Rangers family lost a member today with the death of Mark Pavelich. The Olympic gold medalist and former Ranger died at the age of 63 in Sauk Centre, Minnesota.
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) March 5, 2021
Pavelich was a patient at the Eagle’s Healing Nest where he was being treated for mental illness. He was there as part of a civil commitment after he had assaulted a neighbor. He was found unfit to stand trial and he is believed to have suffered a neurocognitive disorder as a result of brain trauma.
Pavelich had attended the University of Minnesota-Duluth and was a member of the Miracle on Ice Olympic hockey team. After the Olympics, he was signed by Rangers GM Craig Patrick who had been an assistant coach on that Olympics team and he played for his former coach, Herb Brooks.
As a Ranger fan, those Herb Brooks coached teams were a joy to watch. They embraced the European style of play and Brooks took his “Smurfs” into the playoffs every year. The misfortune for the Rangers was that they ran into a New York Islanders powerhouse team every year and could never get past them.
Pavelich had many fabulous moments, but the highlight was when he scored five goals in a game on February 28, 1983. Before a delighted Madison Square Garden crowd, Pavelich scored five goals in an 11-3 win over the Hartford Whalers. He was the first and only U.S. born NHL player to score five goals in a game and was only the second New York Ranger to accomplish that feat after Don Murdoch in 1976.
It was a great night to get a hat trick as the fans were all given red caps with the Winston cigarettes logo and they littered the ice after his third, fourth and fifth goals.
Pavelich was born in 1958 in Eveleth, Minnesota. At only 5’8″ and 170 pounds, Pavelich was undrafted by any NHL team, definitely an oversight, based on his excellent play with the Rangers. Pavelich always was his own man and he left the team in 1986 after a dispute with coach Ted Sator. He did return for two brief stints with San Jose and the Minnesota North Stars before retiring.
Once he retired, he was a recluse, living in northern Minnesota. In a tragedy, his wife died in an accidental fall at their home in 2012. He made headlines when he sold his gold medal for $250,000 in 2014 to provide for his daughter.
Pavelich refused to participate in any of the Olympic teams reunions until he was persuaded to go back to Lake Placid in 2015 for the 35th anniversary of the gold medal. Teammate Buzz Schneider had spent weeks trying to get him to come and he finally agreed, driving to Lake Placid with a friend over two days. No one was sure he would really be there until he showed up.
His troubles really began two years ago when he was arrested in his hometown of Lutsen, Minnesota, accused of assaulting a neighbor. Pavelich claimed that his neighbor “spiked his beer” after they returned from a fishing trip. The 61-year old Pavelich allegedly beat his neighbor with a metal pole, breaking the man’s leg, several ribs and fracturing a vertebra.
Ever since that incident he has been in and out of treatment facilities while his family has tried to bring more awareness to issues related to chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE. They believe that the many blows to the head in his hockey career resulted in his suffering from CTE, which can result in violent and impulsive behavior and paranoia.
All of us at Blue Line Station and all Ranger fans extend all of our sympathies to the family of Mark Pavelich. He brought us so much joy in his hockey career and it is a tragedy to lose him so young.