WINNIPEG — Ondrej Pavelec was wearing a new logo on Tuesday.
“I’m with the Moose now and we’ll see what happens next.” said Pavelec.
Pavelec reported to the Manitoba Moose for his first practice after he cleared waivers earlier in the day without a new suitor. Pavelec knew going to the Moose was always a possibility.
“Little bit surprise me,” Pavelec said. “I’m 29, it’s part of the business. I’ve been around for awhile to know that this can happen and it happened.”
Pavelec was among the final cuts on Monday after playing five seasons with the Jets. The Jets opted to go young in goal, keeping Michael Hutchinson and Connor Hellebuyck, while sending Pavelec to the farm. Pavelec appeared in only one exhibition game, where he recorded a shutout, so he had an idea the writing was on the wall.
“I can kinda read between the lines,” said Pavelec. “So a little bit I was surprised but at the same time we were three goalies over there, so like I said, I’ve been around for awhile to expect everything.”
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Pavelec is entering the final year of his contract that will pay him over $4 million this season. But he’s still just one injury away from returning to the Jets.
“Everybody wants to play in the best league in the world, that’s for sure,” said Pavelec. “Once you get a taste of the national league, you want to stay there and play as long as you can.”
Pavelec is expected to share the Moose netminder duties with Eric Comrie. And trying to balance Pavelec’s playing time while still trying to develop Comrie will be an ongoing issue.
“It’s going to be an organizational decision on a daily basis,” said Moose head coach Pascal Vincent.
“We’re going to do what’s best for the organization and Comrie has to play. He has to develop, so it’s going to be a matter of managing those two guys and making sure we don’t slow down Comrie’s development.”
“It’s still the same thing for myself as I go into the year. I still got to earn my starts, play the best I can and try to win some games for this team,” said Comrie. “Not many times do you get to play with a guy with 400 plus games of experience in the NHL. For myself it’s a really exciting time and I’m just really looking to build off it and learn as much as I can each day.”
Pavelec guided the Chicago Wolves to a Calder Cup championship back in 2008 but hasn’t played in the American Hockey League since the 2010-11 season with the Wolves.
“I didn’t play in the AHL for awhile so I’m gonna be honest, I don’t know what to expect at all,” said Pavelec. “I don’t know what the plan is.”
And Pavelec understands the only road back to the NHL is by playing well in the “A”.
“If you want to be back in the NHL, you have to show it in the AHL,” Pavelec said. “And that’s pretty much all I can do right now.”
WATCH: Raw Ondrej Pavelec Interview
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