Russian offer puts space between Pavs, Jets

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This article was published 20/06/2012 (5174 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO — Ondrej Pavelec and his agent, Allan Walsh, with a little help from the KHL, have set the market for the goalie’s services and are intent on pumping the Winnipeg Jets for top dollar.

Pavelec has reportedly been made an offer for one year at a rate north of $5 million with St. Petersburg in the KHL and is willing to leave the Jets and the NHL if he can’t get what he wants.

The Pavelec camp reportedly wants a four-year deal with an annual rate around $4 million. The Jets must have a lower number in mind or a contract would have been signed by now.

The Jets had nothing to say when queried about the deal on Tuesday and Walsh again said he would not comment about an ongoing negotiation.

People around the NHL, however, are talking, and the viewpoint is a deal is so far from being closed that Pavelec may be on the trading block.

Pavelec was Winnipeg’s most important player last season and is certainly worthy of a raise. He has yet to prove himself as consistently elite and still has some growing to do, making a top-dollar, long-term deal a bit of a reach for the Jets.

Three years at $3 million in the first year and climbing to four by the end is where Pavelec fits in today’s market, according to league sources, but they say the Jets are coming in lower and Walsh is way above that range.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have to be at the front of the line of teams interested in talking about a trade for Pavelec and the Columbus Blue Jackets can’t be far back.

There are a number of ways this could unfold, but a lot more will be known in the coming days. If a deal is not done by the end of this weekend, the Jets will have to file a qualifying offer by June 26 or file for arbitration.

The set qualifying offer for Pavelec is the same as his salary of $1.3 million of last season.

Pavelec can accept the qualifying offer, but that’s highly unlikely, or he can file for arbitration by July 5. He also has the option of turning down the qualifying offer and continuing to work on a deal with the Jets or hope another team puts in an offer sheet.

The Jets would have the right to match any offer sheet or let Pavelec go and take whatever compensation they are awarded, which would be a first-round pick and perhaps more depending on the value of the offer.

The final option for Pavelec is to simply accept the deal in the KHL and take the resulting payday.

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For the Jets, these are difficult days. Pavelec’s willingness to move to the KHL may need to be put to the test if they want to stick to the offer they’ve tabled.

There is some talk Pavelec won’t file for arbitration and if the Jets make that move, he’ll simply take the deal in the KHL.

Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has some fast-moving water to pick his way through in order to find the path best for the Jets. This is a negotiation that will have significant impact on the organization going forward and is his biggest test to date.

TIDBITS: Winnipeg resident Scott Arniel is weighing a number of offers, one to be a head coach in the AHL and others to be an assistant in the NHL, and is expected to make a decision this weekend… Winnipeg native Craig Oster is the agent for Evander Kane and he told me Tuesday there’s no truth to the rumours Kane doesn’t want to re-sign with the Jets and he expects talks to speed up this weekend at the NHL entry draft in Pittsburgh.

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @garylawless