He has haunted the Colorado Avalanche for nearly two decades, scoring massive goals in important games, most of which came from in front of the net. It sounds like he won’t be able to hurt the Avalanche any longer, as Joe Pavelski appears to be calling it a career in the NHL.
We’re still sitting around and waiting for the Stanley Cup Final to actually start, which means a lot of talking. The big topic on Tuesday appeared to be surrounding goaltending, as the New Jersey Devils are still looking for a starting NHL goaltender. There are two big ones that seem to be on the market, and they’re linked to both of them.
All that and more in this Wednesday edition of Evan’s Daily.
Colorado Hockey Now
I’m not sure I’d necessarily agree with it, given all the question marks surrounding Valeri Nichushkin and Gabriel Landeskog, but FanDuel believes the Avalanche are one of the favorites to go all the way next season in the NHL.
I have started to dig into the NHL Draft and who might be available around where the Avalanche pick. So far, not super impressed, but look for more on that soon.
Pavelski Retiring
48 points, 23 of which are goals, in 57 career regular season games. In the playoffs, nine goals and 18 points in 21 games. Those are Joe Pavelski’s career numbers against the Avalanche, and it sounds like they won’t change, as he appears to be calling it a career.
It looked pretty obvious this postseason that he couldn’t quite keep up the with the speed of the NHL any longer, and on Tuesday, Pavelski announced that the plan was for this to be his last season in the league.
Given where he was drafted and how small he is, he sure had one heck of a career.
Joe Pavelski was a 7th-round pick in the 2003 NHL Draft …
🔹1,332 career NHL games played
🔹475 goals
🔹1,068 points
🔹x4 NHL All-Star
🔹Most playoff goals by an American-born player (74)What an unbelievable story 👏 pic.twitter.com/OTsVQ2WSjM
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 4, 2024
Is he a Hall Of Famer? I’m not so sure about that, although some are much quicker to declare he is. To me, he belongs in the “Hall Of Very Good.” There’s nothing wrong with that. Great career, and wish him the best in retirement.
Goalie Rumors
The New Jersey Devils went out and got Jake Allen at the deadline, but they’re not completely satisfied in net.
Their GM Tom Fitzgerald made it clear he’s willing to trade the 10th overall pick for a goaltender. I don’t think any goaltender that’s available is worth the 10th pick, but it’s a good trade chip, that’s for sure. The two goaltenders in question appear to be Jakob Markstrom and Linus Ullmark. Markstrom has two years left on his deal and is willing to waive his no-trade clause to go to New Jersey, while Ullmark has just one year left. Both would be an upgrade, but most goaltenders are so inconsistent from year-to-year that it’s a big gamble, especially if you’re giving up a 10th pick.
Some have asked me if I think the Avalanche would be interested in trading for a goaltender, specifically Ullmark, and I don’t see it, especially not since the cost is expected to be high. That Vezina season always felt like a one-year thing, and I don’t expect him to repeat that. Colorado also doesn’t exactly have a ton of cap room, so adding a $5 million netminder, even if they were to get rid of Georgiev, would make things more complicated.
National Hockey Now
How quickly can the Sharks build a contending team in the NHL? Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith are a good start.
Edmonton gets to hate Matthew Tkachuk again.
Kent Hughes is typically always active around the draft, and that should be the case again this year.
The McDavid path is a good lesson for Connor Bedard.