Joe Pavelski is done. That’s a hard sentence to write on the heels of a disappointing Stars playoff exit, but this has been the plan for a while, according to Pavelski. His fifth season in Dallas was his last.
Surely his teammates weren’t the only ones getting choked up the other day as Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, and Wyatt Johnston spoke about what Pavelski has meant to them. Whether as a landlord, coach, counselor, or golf opponent, the Wisconsin native has consistently been the good guy, going out of his way to leave a lasting impact on his teammates in ways you’re sure to keep hearing about for years to come, even if you won’t get to see his trademark grin next to them.
For Stars fans, Pavelski has been a special player to watch, in part because not a lot stands out. Nicknamed “Little Joe” in San Jose alongside “Jumbo” Joe Thornton, Pavelski could blend in when he wanted to with his 5-foot-11 frame. Sure, you could usually find Pavelski on the ice by looking for his all-white stick with the exaggerated toe on the blade to deflect the puck, but he wasn’t often blowing by defenders and doing spin-o-ramas. The memories of Pavelski’s play will consist less of superstar highlights and crushing hits than of doing the right thing at the right time. Whether with a deft tip up high or a hard-won rebound at the front of the net, Pavelski was always ready to do what had to be done. That’s the definition of integrity.
If you watch all 27 of Pavelski’s goals from this season, you’ll notice a pattern: when he had the puck in a great spot, he would almost always shoot it as quickly as possible, often catching the goalie before he was ready. When Pavelski was in the lane looking to deflect a shot, he was watching for it, perpetually ready to tip it past the goaltender. If he was on a 2-on-1, he was never going to overpass the puck into oblivion, because he’d be firing it the minute the seam pass came through. Right thing, right time.
One of the Pavelski goals I’ll always remember is the overtime winner in Game 4 against Vegas in 2023, with Dallas down 3-0 in the series and Benn serving a suspension. The Stars were on the power play, and Vegas was scrambling in front of its net. Dallas had lost its previous five overtime playoff games, but Pavelski refused to let the Stars crumble again. Instead, he watched the play develop, then backed up to the faceoff dot to gain separation from his defender, opening up for a one-timer that kept the Stars’ season alive. Pavelski could confront any manner of chaos, but he would always leave order in his wake.
It’s almost preposterous to remember that there were some doubts when Pavelski arrived back in 2019, and not just because of another overtime playoff goal against Dallas in 2008. Pavelski’s credentials were impressive, but when Jim Nill signed him to a three-year, $21 million contract, there were reasons to be skeptical of how much the 35-year-old had left to give.
Never the fleetest of foot, Pavelski had also suffered a horrible injury during the playoffs just a few months earlier. The common refrain was that he would most likely help the Stars’ secondary scoring issues initially, but that the back end of the contract might end up being a bit tougher to stomach. It reminded some of the just-finished contract of Jason Spezza, the original veteran scorer brought in to supplement the offense of Benn and Seguin in 2014, only to get healthy-scratched by Jim Montgomery to start the playoffs in his final year with the team.
So when Pavelski started his first season by going seven games without a goal amid a 1-7-1 stretch that put even the venerable Nill in hot water, it looked like the concerns were justified. But just a few months and a pandemic later, Pavelski scored a team-leading 13 playoff goals to help Dallas make the Stanley Cup Final in the Covid bubble. A lot happened in 2019-20, as you may recall.
But to really understand what Pavelski has meant to the Stars, you have to go back to the season before he joined the team. Specifically, back to late December 2018, when the Stars were sitting on the playoff bubble with a 19-16-3 record, and when Jim Lites, on behalf of Tom Gaglardi, delivered the infamous and profane tirade about Benn and Seguin not living up to their lucrative contracts.
Dallas was an organization wracked with frustration, on its third coach in three years, and having just missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Spezza had brought a veteran voice to the mix, but he was more of an older brother than a paternal figure. And with Benn and Seguin contributing but not overpowering their opponents, the front office felt like it had no recourse but to demand that its highest-paid players dig deeper in the most eye-catching way imaginable.
Since Pavelski’s arrival, the temperature around the team has been infinitely more moderate, even with the firing of Montgomery just a few months after Pavelski was signed. And even when the Stars did miss the playoffs again the next season as the injuries piled up, there was a steadiness around the team that kept things from spinning out of control. Pavelski wasn’t wearing a “C” on his chest, but everyone in the organization knew that if he wasn’t worried, everything was going to be OK. And with three Western Conference finals appearances during Pavelski’s five years in Dallas, it’s safe to say he was right.
Looking back on those five seasons, Pavelski’s contributions on the ice speak for themself. He was a rock in the lineup, playing 369 of 371 regular-season games. And most every morning before each of those games, Pavelski could be found in the same place he was before his last one: on the ice before anyone else, always trying to get better:
And when he suffered a rare injury after a brutal hit by Matt Dumba to start the playoffs last year, Pavelski returned for the next round against Seattle and promptly scored all four of the Stars’ goals in Game 1.
At 36, he led the Stars in goals and points. At 37, he led the team in points again. At 38, he “fell” to third in scoring while helping Jason Robertson to a magnificent 109-point season. And this year, at the age of 39, Pavelski finished second on the team in points with 27 goals and 40 assists, and then decided he was done.
Pavelski never had a Robertson-like season, but that was never his calling card. He has a borderline case to make the Hall of Fame, even though he broke 80 points in a season once, in his age-37 season. But Pavelski’s career arc defies logic, as he scored more as he got older rather than needing help to extend his career.
In fact, Pavelski was the help, on and off the ice. He was never the domineering veteran who required young players to jump through arbitrary hoops to remind them who was in charge or saw them as a threat to his career. He looked out for younger players, knowing how hard it can be to break into the NHL while growing up. During his 18 seasons, Pavelski opted for influence over control, and that’s why we’re witnessing an outpouring of universal love and respect from around the hockey world.
As a seventh-round draft pick, Pavelski knew better than to take the NHL for granted, and his work ethic reflected that. And every time you saw him, whether practicing his seemingly impossible deflections, fighting for a rebound, caring for another teammate, or leaving it all on the ice in his 82nd game of the season, you saw the definition of integrity. It’s hard to imagine anyone having a better end to a hockey career than that.
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