Pavelec

[Excelsior]

What happens to him this year? He threatened to bolt last year if he wasn't in the NHL. Could he really do it this year if they don't make room for him or trade him?

[AFlyers66]

What happens to him this year? He threatened to bolt last year if he wasn't in the NHL. Could he really do it this year if they don't make room for him or trade him?

Guess we need to hear some quotes from Pavelec here soon, see where his mind is after these developments.

With signing Kari though, I don't see Pavelec being his backup this season, they'll stick with Hedberg as veteran backup. When Kari gets hurt, inevitably, Pavelec could come up and try to make some noise, but otherwise it's a third year in the A for him. Does this make him head back home or to KHL? Perhaps. But Waddell has played his Kari-man-crush card here and it sends a message to who is his man, and it sure isn't Pavelec.

I held onto Pavelec for a long time, hoping for Kari to get traded, but finally saw it wasn't going to happen and traded Pavelec at our draft in a package to move up and snag Ryan Ellis. With my depth at G, I'm pretty happy with that. Who knows where Pavelec goes from here, as far as the NHL goes? He's certainly at a crossroads.

[Pete]

Bye bye Pavelec !!!

[Shoeless]

Yeah I don't think Pavelec is much of a fantasy asset these days.

[metaldude26]

Yeah I don't think Pavelec is much of a fantasy asset these days.

But that's cuz you think Lehtonen is suddenly gonna come to play in shape and be the second coming of Sawchuk or something... Is he even off the Big Mac diet yet?

I kid. Lehtonen is solid and Pavelec's attitude has to raise some flags. Still until Lehtonen actually has a healthy season Pavelec still has to carry some value.

[Shoeless]

Yup that is pretty much how I think. Could be wrong - we shall see.

[Scribe]

But that's cuz you think Lehtonen is suddenly gonna come to play in shape and be the second coming of Sawchuk or something... Is he even off the Big Mac diet yet?

I kid. Lehtonen is solid and Pavelec's attitude has to raise some flags. Still until Lehtonen actually has a healthy season Pavelec still has to carry some value.

Lehtonen had no injuries in 2006-07 and played 68 games -- but that doesn't mean that Pavelec has no value.

Lehtonen just signed a one-year-deal -- for the second summer in a row. I take two things from that. Atlanta doesn't want to commit to him long-term until he proves he can stay healthy -- consistently. One year is not enough, I agree.

Lehtonen and his agent -- if indeed, they've been offered a long-term deal Atlanta -- are rolling the dice and hoping Kari can put together a good, full season and cash in with an offer sheet (he will be a RFA again next summer) or sweet talk Atlanta into a long-term deal.

Most teams addressed their goalie slots via free agency this offseason, which probably kept Pavelec's trade value down. Also, despite the love for Pavelec among some fantasy GMs, his minor-league statistics are not as good as Lehtonen's were. Sure, Pavelec did help Chicago win a Calder Cup, but as trade bait he's not as attractive as say a Cory Schneider.

[letnry]

to add to that, his NHL stats are horrible. You could blame on the team a little, but Kari and Moose still easily outplayed him.

[GoalieGuild]

I feel that bringing Pavelec in at this point would be a mistake. When you are giving Lehtonen $3 million (that's what was reported at least) then it's obvious he is going to be expected to play close to 70 games.

So bringing Pavelec into the mix when he would only play 20 games at the most would ultimately cause a rift in the locker room because of Pavelec's pervasive urge to always want to play. So I don't expect the Thrashers to look at their current situation with the plan of messing with what has been a great tandem in Lehtonen/Hedberg.

But then again, who knows? They might not want to let Pavelec go because he's too talented of a prospect. And what happens if Lehtonen DOES get an offer from another team next summer? Then Atlanta is left with nothing but a veteran in Hedberg and then they have to look at Peter Mannino or Drew MacIntyre.

There are a lot of fantasy managers that seriously downgrade Lehtonen's value because of his proneness to injury. Do you remember when my big BOLD PREDICTION last year was Lehtonen winning 40 games? I wouldn't be afraid to make that same WACKY prediction again this year. His fantasy value depends a lot on his defensive core (more than most goalies). If he were on San Jose or Vancouver, he could post stats similar to Nabokov and Luongo.

If Lehtonen STARTS this season like he FINISHED last season, he could easily win 30 games next year.

From March 3 to April 11, Lehtonen went something like 6-3-0 with a 2.50 goals against average and a couple of shutouts. I can't remember his save % over that stretch, but I know that two of his losses in that stretch were total stinkers against Detroit and Montreal, as he allowed six goals against in each game. Detroit put up 38 shots on him in that game though.

Regardless, I also feel that Pavelec has kind of pushed the envelope too far and now there's not going to be many teams that are interested in him. He hasn't yet proved himself as a legitimate NHL goaltender, either starter or backup, but because of his amazing AHL play, the potential is certainly there.

Maybe the best thing for him is to play a few years overseas so that teams can "forget" his attitude problems and give him a respectable opportunity. But you have to think at this point in the game, Atlanta is much better off riding the Lehtonen/Hedberg tandem.

[jspader]

Why wouldn't Atlanta trade one of them (Lehtonen, Pavelec) to try to fill the huge holes they have on their team???

[GoalieGuild]

I would say because they can both be tagged as "goalies of the future" for the franchise. Lehtonen is one of the most elite goalies in the league when he is 100% healthy and Pavelec has the potential to be almost as good in two or three more years.

Unfortunately, both of them couldn't keep their mouths shut at the right time. Kari consumed too many hamburgers and Pavelec whined too much about wanting to play more. HA HA HA.

Seriously though, if I'm Atlanta, I wouldn't wanna let either of them go.

[Scribe]

Why wouldn't Atlanta trade one of them (Lehtonen, Pavelec) to try to fill the huge holes they have on their team???

Good question. I liken it to same situation I used to read about in comics as a kid and Archie Andrews went through at Riverdale High. He just couldn't decide between Betty or Veronica.

It's not that the Thrashers are shy to commit to either one, it's just that it's a tough call and they're trying to push out the decision day so they can make the right call.

For their sake, one hopes, it doesn't come down to one guy fading into oblivion and then being dealt for chicken feed. Hello, Mika Noronen.

Adding to Atlanta's dilemma is the guy at the helm. Don Waddell. I don't have a lot of confidence in this guy. He seems like a bit of a ditherer to me. I understand about proceeding with caution and not rushing decisions, but when you're struggling in the basement, you've got to convert assets like Pavelec or Lehtonen into roster players that will help you become a contender.

The difficulty has been Lehtonen's injury woes. If not for that, I have no doubt they would have committed to him as I think he's much more talented than Pavelec.

[Shoeless]

Why wouldn't Atlanta trade one of them (Lehtonen, Pavelec) to try to fill the huge holes they have on their team???

Well an issue might be that Biron is sitting on FA and rather than trade an asset for one of those goalies, why not just pick one off the shelf that you only have to pay.

[Scribe]

Good point, Shoeless. Can anyone name a team that addressed goaltending through a trade this summer?

Everybody used FA market. Colorado, Toronto, Florida, Islanders, Lightning, and Edmonton.

You've got Biron, as you mentioned, on the market. If anybody wants to trade for a goalie, there's also kids like Cory Schneider and Michal Neuvirth who are every bit as good as Pavelec. There's a bit of a goalie glut, it would seem. Maybe Pavelec isn't fetching very good offers on the trade market.

[Knuckles14]

Good question. I liken it to same situation I used to read about in comics as a kid. Archie Andrews went through at Riverdale High. He just couldn't decide between Betty or Veronica.

I was always for Veronica.....Betty was such a prude if I remember and Veronica...rrraaarrrrrrr!!! lol