Joe Pavelski caught attending NHL training camp in the East!

Earlier this summer, veteran forward Joe Pavelski announced that he will not play next season while adding, “this is it for me.”

“This was it for me. It was known for a while, probably,” Pavelski said. “The plan is not to play next year. We’re still moving back at some point here, decompressing and figuring all this stuff out and logistics and stuff. I don’t want to say this is official, but the plan is not to be coming back. There will be more to come on that. Everything is still so raw, nothing official. There will be more words. I’m going to need a little bit of time to really put it together and figure it out that way. Most likely that was it and couldn’t ask for a better opportunity and a better group of guys to be around.”

Once his Dallas Stars were eliminated from the postseason, Pavelski had mentioned how he had known for a while that the 2023-24 season would probably be his final campaign.

After turning 40 in July and being a free agent without any announcement of a new deal, Pavelski confirmed he was hanging up the skates and was sort of forgotten about until Friday, when it was reported that the veteran leader was spotted at the Pittsburgh Penguins’ training camp. He was taking in the morning skate with Kyle Dubas and AGM Jason Spezza.

Last season, Pavs was the NHL’s second-oldest player this season behind Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Mark Giordano. Pavelski was in his fifth season with the Stars, who were considered favorites to win the Stanley Cup, a trophy that had eluded him during his 18-year career.

I’m not saying he is looking to join the Penguins for the upcoming season, but Pavelski could be testing the waters for a mentorship role or even a front office position. There is a link here: Pavelski was a long time star player for current Penguins Assistant General Manager Doug Wilson in San Jose.

This past season, Pavelski posted 27 goals and 67 points, and added four points in 19 playoff contests. The Stars were defeated by the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final in six games.

I would love to see Pavelski back in the NHL, one more time maybe, though he did sound pretty serious about moving on from the game.

Though on Friday it seems like the game is not ready to move on from Pavelski.