Marty Pavelich
| Marty Pavelich | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Pavelich on a 1954 Topps card | |||
| Born |
November 6, 1927 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Died |
June 28, 2024 (aged 96) Big Sky, Montana, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 168 lb (76 kg; 12 st 0 lb) | ||
| Position | Left Wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Detroit Red Wings | ||
| Playing career | 1944–1957 | ||
Martin Nicholas Pavelich (November 6, 1927 – June 28, 2024) was a Canadian ice hockey left winger. He played ten seasons for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League from 1947 until 1957. Pavelich was the last surviving member of the Red Wings 1950 Stanley Cup team.
Early career
[edit]Pavelich played three seasons (1944–47) of junior-league hockey with the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) Galt Red Wings in Galt, Ontario. He played 74 regular season games for the team, scoring 52 goals, with 66 assists for 118 points.[1]
NHL career
[edit]Pavelich joined the NHL Detroit Red Wings in 1947. He played 634 regular season NHL games, scoring 93 goals and 159 assists for 252 points. His post-season record is 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points in 93 games.[2] The Red Wings won the Stanley Cup four times (1950, 1952, 1954, 1955) during his career and he played in the NHL all-star games for those seasons.
Pavelich was regarded as an unsung hero of the early 1950s powerhouse Red Wing squad that also included Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay.[3] Wings manager, Jack Adams, referred to Pavelich as "one of the four key men around whom we build our hockey club."[4] Hockey journalist Stan Fischler, ranked him as the 4th best defensive forward of all time in his book Hockey's 100: A Personal Ranking of the Best Players in Hockey History.[5] Considered one of the best "shadows" of his time, his role was to check other team's top scorers, including the likes of Maurice "Rocket" Richard.[3][4]
Later life and death
[edit]Pavelich left the Red Wings at the end of the 1956-57 season. He and Ted Lindsay ran a successful plastics manufacturing business together that supplied parts to the automotive industry. He rejected a 1958 contract that called for a minor-league option. "I told him I could get him a $7,000 base salary in the minors, which is a good contract, but Marty said he'd retire first," Detroit General Manager Jack Adams said.[3] Pavelich retired after the 1956-57 season, rather than risk being moved away from the Wings and his business.
He later retired to Big Sky, Montana in the early 1990s.[6][7] Pavelich died at his home in Montana on June 28, 2024, at the age of 96.[8] He had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in the prior month.[9]
Career statistics
[edit]| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1944–45 | Galt Red Wings | OHA-Jr. | 21 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 6 | ||
| 1945–46 | Galt Red Wings | OHA-Jr. | 25 | 22 | 26 | 48 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||
| 1946–47 | Galt Red Wings | OHA-Jr. | 28 | 22 | 28 | 50 | 32 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 6 | ||
| 1947–48 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 41 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 1947–48 | Indianapolis Capitals | AHL | 26 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1948–49 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 60 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 40 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 1949–50 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 65 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 58 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 13 | ||
| 1949–50 | Indianapolis Capitals | AHL | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1950–51 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 67 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 41 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1951–52 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 68 | 17 | 19 | 36 | 54 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1952–53 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 64 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 49 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 1953–54 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 65 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 57 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 1954–55 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 70 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 59 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 | ||
| 1955–56 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 70 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 38 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14 | ||
| 1956–57 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 64 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 48 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| NHL totals | 634 | 93 | 159 | 252 | 454 | 91 | 13 | 15 | 28 | 74 | ||||
References
[edit]- ^ "Marty Nicholas Pavelich". Legends of Hockey.net. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
- ^ "Marty Pavelich's player profile". Hockey DB.com. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Marty Pavelich 1953-54". Red Wings.NHL.com. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
- ^ a b Fischler, Stan & Shirley (2003). Who's Who in Hockey. Andrews McMeel Universal. ISBN 0-7407-1904-1. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
- ^ "Marty Pavelich". Greatest Hockey Legends.com. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
- ^ "Local groups raise funds for ice rink development | Explore Big Sky". 23 August 2022.
- ^ "Big Sky, Montana to build a rink honoring Red Wings alumnus Marty Pavelich". 24 August 2022.
- ^ Stubbs, Dave (June 29, 2024). "Pavelich dies at 96, won Stanley Cup 4 times with Red Wings". NHL.com. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
- ^ James, Helene St. "Detroit Red Wings Stanley Cup champion Marty Pavelich dies at age 96". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
External links
[edit]- Marty Pavelich at NHL
- Marty Pavelich at the Hockey Hall of Fame (NHL player)
- Marty Pavelich at EliteProspects.com
- Marty Pavelich at HockeyDB.com
- Marty Pavelich at Hockey-Reference.com
