Arizona Coyotes Should Target Winnipeg G Ondrej Pavelec

Arizona Coyotes Should Target Winnipeg Jets Netminder Ondrej Pavelec (one year remaining at $3.9 million/yr)

Even with an emerging Louis Domingue in 2015-16, the Arizona Coyotes can not feel comfortable with their goaltending situation heading into the new season. After capturing Rookie of the Month honors back in January, the 24-year-old came back down to earth much like Garret Sparks did in Toronto.

Similarly to Sparks, Louis Domingue is not quite NHL ready. The Maple Leafs have recognized that and will allow Garret Sparks/Antoine Bibeau to continue developing in the AHL. Arizona Coyotes however seem to believe (at this point) they can be competitive with a tandem of Smith/Domingue.

The goalie guru’s down in the Desert have continually worked their magic, and even did so at the beginning with Mike Smith. He put up a Vezina worthy performance in year one back in 2011-12, but was limited to 34 games the next year. 

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He put together a decent 62 game performance in 2013-14, before going 14-42-5 with a 3.16GAA and .904 save percentage in 2014-15. Mike Smith was limited to 32 games this past season unfortunately.

Whether its injury related or performance, Smith is wildly inconsistent. At a cap hit $5.66 million/year for three more seasons, we could see a buyout in the near future if his play doesn’t rebound in a big way.

With Smith being injury-prone/inconsistent, and Domingue still needing at least one more year in the minors, it would make sense to acquire short-term insurance. Let me explain what makes Winnipeg Jets G Ondrej Pavelec the perfect target:

1) Winnipeg is a budget team facing cap constraints currently as they look for ways to re-sign Jacob Trouba.

2) Winnipeg has four goaltenders in the mix. Connor Hellebuyck is the future in goal for the Jets, while Michael Hutchinson is signed to a new, very affordable backup contract. 28-year-old Ondrej Pavelec has served as starter for Atlanta/Winnipeg and carries a $3.9 million dollar cap hit for one more year before he becomes a UFA. Lastly, the rarely talked about Eric Comrie, who emerged as one of the AHL’s top netminders in 2015-16.

3) Given the overload between the pipes coupled with cap constraints, a team willing to take on Pavelec’s nearly $4 million dollars is likely to acquire the Czech goalie for cheap.

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Coming from Atlanta to Winnipeg serving as starter for many bad teams, Ondrej Pavelec developed an unfair reputation. People often forget he broke into the league as a teenager and showed tremendous improvement year after year.

He had a career best season in 2014-15 going 22-16-8 with a 2.28GAA and .920 save percentage helping carry the Jets to their first postseason appearance since re-joining the league.

One detail often overlooked that surely affects Ondrej’s stats is the amount of time his current team has spent killing penalties over recent years. When you’re a goalie on the most penalized team (or consistently one of them), your stats tend to take a hit with all those extra powerplay’s.

Pavelec is best described as a 1A type of goalie. He can serve as your starter, but you need a backup who can play a little more than usual.

They can carry a big load (50 game range) but that 60-plus range begins to affect their performance.

If the Arizona Coyotes add Ondrej Pavelec to the mix with Mike Smith, the pair can duel it out in friendly competition to battle for extra time in the crease. If one gets injured, management can take comfort in having Louis Domingue at the ready as a temporary fill-in.

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Come next June, the Yotes can protect Domingue in expansion, buyout or expose Mike Smith, and expose Ondrej Pavelec. Neither are likely to be selected, at which point, Arizona has the option to re-sign Pavelec or chase one of the many 2017 free agent goalies.

That list includes: Ryan Miller, Ben Bishop, Jonathan Bernier, Steve Mason, Brian Elliott, and Michal Neuvirth (among others)