There was talk from Jets bench boss Paul Maurice that Ondrej Pavelec could be back with the team in a backup role this past weekend but on Friday he indicated that Pavelec wasn’t quite ready to go. However Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun first reported this morning that the Jets netminder might not play again this season.
“Don’t have all the details, but Ondrej Pavelec is having surgery today, which will end his season and essentially, his tenure with #NHLJets”
However Winnipeg Jets coach Paul Maurice has since qualified this indicating:
“Pavelec had a scope done on his knee this morning. Normal window is 2-3 weeks recovery for a player. Can be longer for a goaltender.”
You can hear his comments from this morning here:
Coach Maurice on Pavelec
So it remains to be seen if he will play again for the Jets this season.
He began the year banished to the AHL and was recalled on January 17th when the organization felt they needed a shot in the arm with both Hellebuyck and Hutchinson struggling. He played 18 games with the Manitoba Moose and eight games with the Jets following his recall. He pulled himself in the 2nd period from a game against the Wild on February 7th and has not played since.
The 2005 2nd round pick of the Atlanta Thrashers has spent his entire career with this organization although that time was drawing to a close after this season as he was set to become a UFA. He has played in 379 games for the Thrashers/Jets organization.