Tag: Joe Pavelski

Wisconsin men’s hockey legend officially announces retirement from the NHL

Wisconsin men’s hockey legend officially announces retirement from the NHL

Former Wisconsin men’s hockey legend Joe Pavelski has officially announced his retirement, according to the NHL’s recent post on X.

After 18 illustrious seasons representing both the San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars, Pavelski officially hung up his skates after 1,332 games in the NHL. The Plover, Wisconsin native orchestrated one of the more storied amateur and professional careers of any Badger in program history.

Before representing Wisconsin, an 18-year-old Pavelski earned United States Hockey League Rookie of the Year in 2002-03 with Waterloo on the junior ice hockey scene. The Sharks picked the Wisconsin product at No. 205 in the seventh round of the 2003 NHL draft before he starred in Madison.

During his 2004-05 freshman campaign at UW, Pavelski led NCAA first-years in points with 16 goals and 29 assists. He followed that up with an NCAA championship in 2006 and paced the team in both assists and points.

Pavelski made his professional debut with San Jose on Nov. 22, 2006 and registered his first 20-goal season in the NHL in 2008-09. He reached his peak during the 2013-14 season after recording career-bests in goals (41) and points (79). The output netted him NHL Second All-Star Team and Sharks Player of the Year nods.

As captain of the 2015-16 Sharks, Pavelski earned his first NHL All-Star Game bid and guided San Jose to its first Stanley Cup Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Sharks would ultimately lose the series in six games.

The former Badger’s quest for a Stanley Cup, however, would not end there.

A year after signing with the Dallas Stars in July 2019, Pavelski’s Stars reached the Stanley Cup Finals but fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games. Still, the Plover product led Dallas and was second among all players with 13 playoff goals at age 36.

Pavelski played four more seasons with the Stars and scored his 1,000th NHL point on April 10, 2023.

The Badger legend finished his career with 476 goals and 592 assists for 1,068 points in over 1,330 regular-season games for Dallas and San Jose. After the conclusion of the 2023-24 slate, Pavelski also ranked fifth in goals and games among active players.

Pavelski will now turn a chapter on his ice hockey career after cementing his legacy as one of the Badgers’ all-time greats. It’s safe to say the NHL and Badger faithful throughout the nation will miss watching him skate past defenders on a professional stage.

WATCH: Wisconsin hockey great in contention at American Century Championship

WATCH: Wisconsin hockey great in contention at American Century Championship

Wisconsin hockey great Joe Pavelski enters the final round of the 2024 American Century Championship in second place, trailing former professional tennis player Mardy Fish.

The golf tournament is held on the south course at the Edgewood Tahoe Resort in Lake Tahoe. It includes a star-studded field of current and former athletes, musical artists, actors and more.

Related: Why Wisconsin football will or won’t break through to College Football Playoff in 2024

Pavelsi enters Sunday’s final round with 50 points in the modified Stableford scoring format. Instead of scoring in relation to par, this format rewards 10 points for an albatross, eight points for a hole-in-one, six points for an eagle, three for a birdie, one for a par, zero for a bogey and -2 for a double bogey or worse.

He trails Fish’s 57 points and leads NFL wide receiver Adam Thielen (45 points), former MLB pitchers Derek Lowe (42) and Mark Mulder (42), LPGA legend Annika Sorenstam (41) and NBA legend Ray Allen (38).

Pavelski is currently a free agent after playing the last six years with the Dallas Stars. He has played in the NHL since 2006 after spending two seasons at Wisconsin. The veteran, who leads the NHL in all-time playoff goals by an American-born player, did recently announce that he does not intend to play this upcoming season — though did not use the word ‘retire.’

He will look to chase down Fish when the leaders tee off on Sunday.

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All-time great Wisconsin hockey player announces retirement from NHL

All-time great Wisconsin hockey player announces retirement from NHL

Former Wisconsin Badgers men’s hockey player Joe Pavelski announced that he is retiring from hockey on Tuesday after 18 seasons in the NHL. The 39-year-old and the Dallas Stars were just eliminated in the league’s West Final against the Oilers, dropping the series 4-2.

Out of high school, the Plover, Wisconsin, native was selected in the seventh round of the 2003 NHL Draft by the San Jose Sharks before he ever ended up being a Badger.

Pavelski spent three seasons in Madison as a member of Wisconsin’s men’s hockey program from 2004-2006, leading the team in overall points in their 2006 National Championship winning season.

He spent the first 13 years of his professional career with San Jose, appearing in many playoff games, including the team’s run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016, ultimately losing to the Penguins.

Pavelski went on to join the Dallas Stars, his final team, in 2019. While with the Stars, he was able to make his back to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020, falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In total, the center recorded many impressive stats over his career, most notably his 475 goals and 1,068 career points over 1,332 career NHL contests. His 74 postseason goals are the most all-time by an American-born player.

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NHL fans were furious after Matt Dumba’s vicious hit on Joe Pavelski only drew a minor penalty

Should Matt Dumba be suspended for this hit on Joe Pavelski?

The 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs aren’t even a day old and already there’s controversy brewing.

On Monday, the Dallas Stars were hosting the Minnesota Wild in Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs. With the Stars up 2-1 late in the second period as the team was moving deep into the offensive zone, Joe Pavelski was rocked by a hit from Matt Dumba that send both teams into a frenzy.

On the play, Dumba backed into Pavelski with a violent hit that caught him high in the shoulder, causing the Stars’ forward to fall hard on the ice. Pavelski had to be helped off the ice after the hit and did not return for the remainder of the second period.

Originally, Dumba was given a five-minute major for the hit, but after review — which is a new rule this season — the Wild defenseman was given a two-minute minor for roughing instead.

You never want to see a player go out with an injury like that, especially on a brutal hit from Dumba that felt unnecessarily late. We’ll have to see if Dumba is given extra from the Department of Player Safety, but given the ferocity of the hit, it feels like a suspension could very well be in the cards.

NHL fans were absolutely irate that Dumba’s vicious hit on Pavelski was downgraded to a minor penalty.