Waived: Ondrej Pavelec on waivers at noon ET today (upd: clears)

[Jetabre]

Simply fantastic news.

 

[jw2]

Congrats Jets fans.

 

[Frank Drebin]

Darn right. It's not like a rookie goaltender has ever won the Stanley Cup either. Only veterans with all their moxie and grit and determination. That stuff trumps performance and ability every time.

Its pretty rare. There are a lot more examples of kids not being able to take the pressure than there are cinderella runs.

That said, just because you are a vet, doesn't mean that you are good.

 

[Evil Little]

If I was making the call on this, I'd have done this years ago. To me, half the backups at any given point in the last ~7 years have been at his level or better, to say nothing of the starters.

Me too, but it would have been a politically dicey move for the Jets to lock in 14k season ticket holders for 3+ years then go into a season with <$2m spent on goaltending.

In some ways having a terrible goalie signed for just under starter money gave them both plausible deniability and the type of clutch goaltending that really helps on lottery day.

Edit: Or maybe it was just the baffling incompetence that half of Jets fans seem to think. Who knows?

 

[Frank Drebin]

Me too, but it would have been a politically dicey move for the Jets to lock in 14k season ticket holders for 3+ years then go into a season with <$2m spent on goaltending.

In some ways having a terrible goalie signed for just under starter money gave them both plausible deniability and the type of clutch goaltending that really helps on lottery day.

Edit: Or maybe it was just the baffling incompetence that half of Jets fans seem to think. Who knows?

I don't think the Jets mgmt were stupid like a fox on this. Its ridiculous to think that was the plan all along.

They thought he was good, they signed him to a bad deal, they tried to get their moneys worth out of him, likely under pressure from ownership.

 

[Hemsky001]

Simply fantastic news.

What's the fantastic news? You finally got yourselves a decent defense?

 

[Evil Little]

I don't think the Jets mgmt were stupid like a fox on this. Its ridiculous to think that was the plan all along.

They thought he was good, they signed him to a bad deal, they tried to get their moneys worth out of him, likely under pressure from ownership.

Like I said, who's to know.

I do know that, despite the elation in more hockey-literate circles, there would have been a more mainstream backlash if they had bought him out and gone into a season with two sub-$1m AAV goalies.

 

[ICdave]

Coach Maurice spoke about it to open his scrum today following skate today.

Topics: Background on the goalie decision. How did Pavelec react to the news? How hard it it for a guy who has been here since team relocated to not be part of this team moving forward?

To listen click here.

Players also touched on it today. To listen click here.

 

[winnipegger]

This is better than Thanksgiving.

 

[Bleedred]

Good riddance, he sucks.

Can't believe they actually put him out of his misery.

 

[jetsforever]

In all seriousness, this is amazing. Management has finally woken up.
Laine-Scheifele-Ehlers
Morrissey-[Trouba?]
Hellebuyck
is the future.

 

[Moon Man]

Unbelievable. Amazing. Holy cow!

 

[BatVader]

Maybe Jets look into Bishop.
TB needs cap relief.

 

[varano]

Would there be any possibilities that Winnipeg did this for cap reasons? Maybe a big player to fit in for trouba? They do still need to fit a 6 million dollar player in for trouba in exchange...

Maybe that 900 k for the moment gives them some flexibility , then they'll call pavs back up?

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

Maybe Jets look into Bishop.
TB needs cap relief.

Best joke all year.

 

[mcpw]

Would there be any possibilities that Winnipeg did this for cap reasons? Maybe a big player to fit in for trouba? They do still need to fit a 6 million dollar player in for trouba in exchange...

Maybe that 900 k for the moment gives them some flexibility , then they'll call pavs back up?

Sending down Pavelec instead of sending down Hellebuyck saves us exactly $282,500 cap. Always need to account for the replacement.

Over 9M cap space right now, too.

 

[Street Hawk]

Sending down Pavelec instead of sending down Hellebuyck saves us exactly $282,500 cap. Always need to account for the replacement.

Over 9M cap space right now, too.

Jets can make this move for a number of reasons.

1) Doesn't sound from all of the Jets fans with the Trouba situation that Chevy is under a lot of pressure to make the playoffs this season. This allows the team to spend this coming season developing their goalie of the future
2) Pavelec has only 1 year left and he's not part of the future of the team
3) Rough for Pavelec, but the bright side is that he doesn't need to move as the AHL team plays out of the same arena. Not as if he had to head to the maritimes. Plus, it's a pay increase since he is not subject to escrow.
4) If Helly really struggles, can always recall Pavelec. He'd play hard to showcase himself to other teams.
5) Bit unusual for an NHL team to go with 2 young goalies. Most opt for a veteran presence in nets when grooming a future #1.

 

[Flair Hay]

I like it

 

[billybudd]

Me too, but it would have been a politically dicey move for the Jets to lock in 14k season ticket holders for 3+ years then go into a season with <$2m spent on goaltending.

In some ways having a terrible goalie signed for just under starter money gave them both plausible deniability and the type of clutch goaltending that really helps on lottery day.

Edit: Or maybe it was just the baffling incompetence that half of Jets fans seem to think. Who knows?

I think it's more that Pavelec seems like a pretty good athlete so they just rolled the dice and committed money to a guy who never was going to put it together to become a good goaltender. Pavelec wasn't a bad goaltender every night. I've seen him play spectacularly before. It's that the ratio of good games to bad ones leaves a whole lot to be desired.

The Jets just figured there'd be more and more good nights going forward and it never really worked out that way. In a lot of ways, he's almost a caricature of Marc-Andre Fleury; his predecessor with CB.

Now that there's a light at the end of the tunnel with the contract expiry and Hellebuyck (sp?), all the rationalization that kept Pavelec on the roster is out the window.

 

[AINEC*]

It's happening? I'm happy for you, Jets fans. Nothing surprised me more year after year than knowing Pavelec was still in net for you guys.

 

[WolfgangPuck]

Pav was overpaid for his average goaltending performance
I doubt any other teams will pick him up in waivers
Good for the Jets they got two good goaltenders to play net instead of Pav

 

[Cellee]

It was a move that had to be done.

That said, Pav was a big part of the stretch run to the playoffs a couple of years ago. He also always handled himself with class.

He will find his way back up, maybe this year, I wish him well.

 

[Maurice of Orange]

The Jets have a scary good roster with the additions of Laine, Conner, Tanev and Morrissey.

As a Flyers fan I'm glad we only have to play the Jets 1-2 time(s) a season, the Jets did give the Flyers a run for their money last season, the game I watched between the Jets and Flyers was exciting to watch.

Now that the Jets have sured up the goaltending position, all that remains is the Jacob Trouba situation.

The Jets have a team that can not only make the playoffs, but could go pretty deep into the playoffs this season, especially if the management can come to terms with Jacob Trouba.

The only weakness I see in the Jets line up is on the back end, but if Trouba is indeed traded that could also play it self out sometime before December 1st.

 

[LetsGoBLUES91]

Well this sucks. I always loved watching the Jets bring Pavelec with them to STL.

 

[Tecumseh]

I can actually hear the crickets on the waiver wire