Joe Pavelski On Dallas Stars Failing To Win Stanley Cup And His Thoughts On The Florida Panthers Becoming A Powerhouse

Joe Pavelski knows what it takes to win hockey games.

The 40-year-old was one of the greatest skaters in American hockey history, spending 18 years in the NHL while helping mold both the San Jose Sharks — where he served as a captain for four seasons — and the Dallas Stars into contenders. Not only did he play in the Stanley Cup Finals on two occasions, he only missed the playoffs twice in his long career.

The last team Pavelski played for, the Stars, have struggled in recent years in getting over the hump. During Pavelski’s four seasons in Dallas following his arrival in 2019, the Stars advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals once and went to the Western Conference Finals on two other occasions, However, they never won the Stanley Cup.

Fast forward a year later following Pavelski’s retirement and it’s the same story with the Stars losing in the Western Conference Finals to the Edmonton Oilers.

“Give them a ton of credit for the guys in that room and that staff, they had a great regular season,” says Pavelski in a one-on-one interview. “The last 10 games, they really tumbled, they lost their last seven games, and then they lost their first game of the playoffs.”

The Stars entered the playoffs as Stanley Cup favorites following the midseason acquisition of Mikko Rantanen. However, as Pavelski mentions, they ended the regular season on a seven-game losing streak. In fact, they lost eight straight games before finally defeating the Colorado Avalanche in Game 2 before eventually eliminating them in seven games.

Dallas would go on to eliminate the Winnipeg Jets in six games before losing to the Edmonton Oilers in five games.

“For them to really recover and go and right the ship a little bit and get through one of the best teams in the playoffs with the Avalanche — who were loaded up — win that series,” says Pavelski. “Guys stepped up, made some big plays. Then you’re seeing Winnipeg, the President’s Trophy winners. You get through that series, it’s like this group has something. They dug pretty deep, considering how they ended the season.”

The Stars ended up firing Peter DeBoer, who had spent the past three seasons as the coach in Dallas. He also previously coached Pavelski and the Sharks for four seasons, including a Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 2016. However, DeBoer never led the Stars past the Western Conference Finals.

“I love Pete,” says Pavelski of his former coach. “It was a ton of fun with a group of guys we had, and the staff we had. It was exciting to come to the rink. A few things happened at the end of the year, I’m sure a little bit of frustrations in every part.

“I know that the guys are frustrated with their performance – I would think at that moment – and I’m sure the coaches feel a little bit of the same, because that’s how we felt, the previous two years,” Pavelski continues to say. “You just want to get over the hump for each other. I really enjoyed my time going to battle with all those guys, and it was just time for a change, I guess.”

Pavelski doesn’t have a clear-cut answer on what the Stars need to do to get over the hump, but says sometimes it’s the team that steps up and “finds a little more” that ends up winning the games. He also says it’s not necessarily the best players who end up winning a series. The former All-Star forward says Connor McDavid is the best skater in the NHL, but his Oilers ended up falling to the Florida Panthers for the second consecutive season in the Stanley Cup Finals.

“To get through those teams, there was a lot of belief that they could get it done, and a few things,” says Pavelski. “That’s where this game is so unique and special. You see the best teams win, and it’s not necessarily the best player that’s dominating the game. You’ve seen how hard it’s been for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to get where they are. You need a team around you, and you need guys to step up. You need that depth to come through. You need the saves, and then you’re going to have to find a couple crazy ways to win some games.”

Pavelski gives major credit to the Panthers, who just completed their second consecutive Stanley Cup Finals win and have now been to three straight Stanley Cup Finals. Florida is arguably in the midst of a dynasty with no end in sight.

“Florida’s got a hell of a recipe right now,” says Pavelski of the Panthers. “They’ve led from the top, the Aleksander Barkov’s, the Matthew Tkachuk’s. It starts with Barkov and what a player he is. From everything I hear, the type of person and leader he is, he’s just going to show up, and it kind of forces everyone to fall in line. That second wave of guys is not far off, and they definitely have a nice piece there, and something going because in the cap world, you’re going to lose guys every year. You see it, they lost some guys, and they bring some new ones in.”

Joe Pavelski Playing In American Century Championship Golf Tournament

While Pavelski is retired from the NHL — he says won’t be returning to the ice — he’s keeping busy with the American Century Championship tournament. The Wisconsin native is a top-notch golf player, having participated in the top celebrity golf tournament eight previous times. He finished as a runner-up last year and has finished in the top three on three occasions.

The tournament starts on July 9 and takes place in Lake Tahoe. This will be the 36^th edition of the tournament and features mainstream names such as Steph Curry, John Elway, Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers and John Smoltz.

“You don’t want to come too close for too long and not get it,” says Pavelski. “There’s a little urgency to win. But normally getting off the season, you’d have about a month to try to get the game in a good, decent spot, and could always get there, but never quite finish the deal. Definitely had to club my hands more this season, not having the hockey thing and getting off to a little bit quicker start with that. Hopefully that’s enough, and we’ll keep working over the next little bit to get our game there, and hopefully have another crack at it.”

Pavelski mentions former tennis player Mardy Fish — he’s won two times and Curry, who won in 2023 and missed last year’s tournament, as top competitors.

“It’s just awesome,” says Pavelski. “It’s a week that I look forward to every summer. You’re really excited when the invite comes your way, and you’re always blocking off that week hoping you get the invite, and I was excited to see when it comes. I think the tournament just speaks for itself.

“There’s just a huge buzz there,” says Pavelski. “Everyone that I’ve known that has come there to to watch and be a part of it, they speak so highly of the tournament, how it’s run, how organized is, and then as players, there’s just nothing like it. They take care of us first class and then we get to be fake golfers for a week.”