Ondrej Pavelec has had more NHL experience by age 24 than most goaltenders have had in a lifetime. Not all of it has been good -- he was relied upon heavily when injury prone Atlanta Thrashers starter Kari Lehtonen went down, and after the trade that sent Lehtonen to the Dallas Stars, Pavelec was going to be the Thrashers' goalie of tomorrow. As fate would have it, he's instead the Winnipeg Jets' goalie of today.

Pavelec's numbers have steadily improved over the seasons, although his goals against average did take a bit of an uptick this past season. That particular stat has always been abnormally high for a starter, but that's more towards the Thrashers/Jets inability to form a solid defensive corps than almost anything else. Pavelec also occasionally hasn't been the best conditioned athlete, at least in his early years, and the pressure of being tossed from the Wolves onto the Thrashers basically cold could have left him shell shocked. He's still praised as a solid goaltender around media circles, and he is. Consistency isn't his strong point, however great his abilities are.

Brad Stuart began his career with the Sharks and thanks to today's long anticipated deal, he'll get a chance to return home to finish it. The Red Wings get Andrew Murray and a seventh round pick in the 2014 draft if Stuart signs with the Sharks. Stuart becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, unless the two sides work out a deal first.

Stuart back in familar colors

With the draft two weeks in the future and free agency still three weeks away, teams are well into their preparations for the 2012-13 NHL season, even as the Devils work to extend the Stanley Cup Finals.

For San Jose, shoring up their defensive corps was vital. St. Louis dispatched them in five games and throughout the series, the Sharks were plagued by a lack of phusicality and toughness. Though Stuart is not as adept at two way play, as a stay at home defenseman, he brings grit and aggressiveness.

Important to note, this deal is to the rights for Stuart prior to the commencement of free agency. That gives San Jose an exclusive negotiating period and nothing more. By hedging their bets they ensure they get a deal with Stuart with minimal exposure. For the Red Wings, they have the add Murray and the conditional pick for a player they were certain to lose during free agency.

With the retirement of Nicklas Lidstrom and this deal, Detroit will feature new faces around Ian White and Jonathan Ericsson.

Stuart meanwhile rejoins the team that traded him away in 2005 along with Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau to acquire current Sharks Captain Joe Thornton. The Sharks drafted Stuart 3rd overall in 1998.

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The Colorado Avalanche like to do things a bit differently. As we've talked about previously here at Puck Drunk Love, the Avs prefer to handle negotiating contracts during the summer, after the regular season is in the books. This unique style prevents any unnecessary distractions during the regular season but it also forces added pressure and uncertainty as players wait to find out what their future holds.

As soon as their year ended the Avs started working on figuring out which players would be back for 2012-13. One of the biggest questions, Milan Hejduk, was answered when the club announced they had signed the veteran to a new one-year deal. 

David Jones was the next man on their list, signing a 4-year, $16 million contract. Shortly after the news on Jones surfaced, the Avalanche came to terms with Matt Hunwick on a 2-year deal. 

The Norfolk Admirals, who are the Tampa Bay Lightning's AHL affiliate, headed into tonight's game with a 2-0 lead over the Toronto Marlies for the Calder Cup. The Marlies have been on quite a run to give the city of Toronto their first taste of a major sports championship since the Blue Jays' World Series wins, but the Norfolk Admirals have been on a run of unbelievable proportions. They've lost three times since the Super Bowl back in February, and weren't about to lose tonight. They were so determined to win that apparently they paid a stanchion off to give them the upper hand (via SB Nation Tampa Bay):

Toronto netminder Ben Scrivens, who was also the first star of the game, came back behind the net to play the dump-in, only there was no dump in to be played. Admirals' defenseman Mike Kostka dumped the puck in, but it wound up bouncing off of a stanchion instead of taking the route that Scrivens expected... and it wound up being the game winning goal. 

The Marlies' fans weren't the only ones shaken up by the loss. Admirals head coach Jon Cooper actually said after the game that he was "sick to [his] stomach for Scrivens." Aren't we all (unless you're an Admirals/Bolts fan)?

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PHOTO CREDIT: Los Angeles Times Blog

Hockey fans've long known that the sport harbors some of the most modest, charitable, and all around good people of any of the professional sports. It's next to impossible to make it through a season without reading stories like Brooks Laich changing tires after a heartbreaking game seven loss or the Chicago Blackhawks coming together to support Dale Tallon in his time of loss. Where players are most notable is their charity work with children. Childrens hospitals are a favorite endevor of teams, as are food banks and community outreach programs into the rougher areas of the teams' home cities. Anyone who has seen a child's face light up when they see their favorite mascot and player walk in the door of their hospital room knows what a huge impact these guys have on their communities.

The Los Angeles Kings might have their eyes on the Stanley Cup tonight, but their heart is in their city. A 14 month old baby was killed the night before last in Watts, and the LAPD need help finding the child's killer. The Kings, as part of the 2000 Acts of Hope charity, have donated $50,000 to the reward fund for any information leading to the capture of the individual responsible for this terrible crime.  Amazing move by yet another hockey team invested in their community and their home. They haven't lost sight of what is important in life, even while they're trying to win the Stanley Cup, and that says volumes to the team's integrity.

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Are local media stations in Los Angeles suddenly in on the joke? It seems like after each game the Kings play a different station uses an incorrect logo, team name or butchers a key player's name. 

The media coverage after LA's big Game 3 victory provided yet another gem as the Fox station in Los Angeles incorrectly called Jonathan Quick by the name of Jonathan Swift. 

In recent years Cheechoo has become more widely known for these odd YouTube tributes/songs

Do you know where Jonathan Cheechoo played in 2011-12 prior to watching the video above? If you said no, odds are you're not alone. If you said the Peoria Rivermen, award yourself a firm pat on the back. If you're puzzled by who this Cheechoo fellow is then you probably didn't follow hockey very closely in the mid 2000s. 

Cheechoo spent the 2011-12 season skating with the AHL affiliate of the St. Louis Blues - the Peoria Rivermen. Cheechoo has hopped from team to team over the past several seasons, failing to find his form that made him one of the most threatening scorers in the NHL back in 2005. 

As Cheechoo prepares to face free agency, again, we're left asking one more time - what's next for Cheechoo? Perhaps more importantly, if Cheechoo finds a new team will we see a new rendition of the Jonathan Cheechoo Train song?

With the Los Angeles Kings taking a commanding 3-0 series lead in the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals, many believe that it is no longer a matter of "If" but "when" the Kings will raise the cup for their first in franchise history. Whether they close their winning season in Games 4, 5, or 6, one thing is for certain - they have had plenty of players step up in their championship run.

Beyond the stellar net play of Jonathan Quick and the offensive-minded skill of Anze Kopitar, there is a small group of King forwards that were the future of another NHL franchise not too long ago. By now you may have noticed four names on Los Angeles' roster that were wearing the Philadelphia Flyers bright orange in another life. Who were these players?

The Los Angeles Kings are cashing in on their playoff success. The team recently announced that they have reached an agreement with Fox Sports on a new television contract that will keep Kings hockey on Fox Sports West through 2024. In the deal the Kings are guaranteed a sum of approximately $250 million. 

The deal, as reported by the LA Times, not only paints a clear picture of LA's recent success but also offers an idea of how volatile the television market is in Los Angeles. 

A little bit of "out of left field" news to start the day off. The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired the negiotating rights to Tomas Vokoun from the Washington Capitals this morning for a 7th round pick. If Vokoun doesn't reach a deal with the Pens, he becomes an unrestricted free agent. When you take into consideration that he waived his no movement clause for this, it seems like Vokoun would at least like to give the Pens first crack at his talents -- Vokoun wants the Cup, and there's no doubt about it.

The Penguins were considered Cup favorites this season until starting goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury imploded to the tune of a 4.63 GAA and a .834 save percentage. Bye bye Penguins in the first round, despite the firepower that they exhibited. Was Fleury tired? Was he rattled? Or could he just not be bailed out by the rest of the team? Whatever the reason, Vokoun wouldn't be a strict backup in Pittsburgh. His talent's too much for that role, so chances are good that the Pens might be rolling with a 1A/1B tandem next season if the deal works out. Fleury played 67 games last season, which is a fairly high workload for a goaltender not named Lundqvist or Kipprusoff, so Vokoun would be extremely valuable insurance both in the regular season and playoffs.

Is this a vote of non-confidence in Fleury? I wouldn't take it that far, but it is a move of a franchise that was disappointed in their playoff performance this season. The Penguins are a team that's serious about winning, and this move just keeps them on that path.

EDIT: It was released by the Penguins that Vokoun has been signed for two years at an average value of $2 million. Talk about motivation for MAF.

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