Even when Northern Minnesota native Mark Pavelich played in Manhattan, he brought the great outdoors with him. Just because 1980 U.S. Olympic star was playing for the New York Rangers didn’t mean he was going to change who he was.
He liked woodsy, casual attire, and a team dress code wasn’t his style.
“Just like every other team, our dress code was to come to games in a suit and tie,… former Rangers teammate Tom Laidlaw recalled, chuckling. “Mark would come to games wearing a flannel shirt and corduroy pants, and when he came to games he would wear the same corduroy pants and flannel shirt. He would just throw on a coat and tie over it.…
Pavelich is being remembered today as a colorful character and a highly skilled center. He died Friday at a Minnesota treatment center for mental illness. He was 63. The cause of death has not been announced. Pavelich had been undergoing treatment as part of his commitment for assaulting a neighbor in 2019. Pavelich believed the neighbor had spiked his beer.
“I’m deeply saddened, shocked and overcome with grief upon hearing the news of Mark Pavelich’s death,… former Rangers defenseman Barry Beck wrote on Facebook. “Mark’s sister Jean and her family are heartbroken as they knew they had to tell Mark’s mother the news of his death. There will be some tough days ahead.… Beck has been very public in his lobbying for Pavelich to receive help from the hockey community. Beck has said that Pavelich’s family believes he was suffering from the degenerative brain disease called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. It’s a disease that has been found in athletes, military veterans and others with a history of brain trauma. “There was a lot of people who could have helped Mark and didn’t,… Beck wrote. It seems likely that more will come out on that in the weeks to come, but today seems like a day to celebrate Pavelich’s impact as a top performer on the most well-known team in American hockey history. “Mark Pavelich (is) an American Hero,… Beck wrote on Facebook. Pavelich assisted on Mike Eruzione’s most famous goal against the Soviets in 1980. He posted seven points in seven games en route to USA’s gold medal at Lake Placid. One of the strengths of the U.S. team was a center ice corps that included Mark Johnson, Neal Broten and Pavelich. Those three players combined for 1,741 points in the NHL. After playing for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team, he registered 73 points in 60 games for Lugano in the Swiss League in 1980-81 before signing with the Rangers as a free agent for the 1981-82 season. He netted 33 goals and totaled 76 points in 79 games during his rookie NHL season. In five seasons with the Rangers, Pavelich averaged 26.5 goals per season. On Feb. 23, Pavelich became the first American-born player to score five goals in an NHL game, netting five in an 11-3 win against the Hartford Whalers. “He was the kind of guy who would come early to practice to work on things,… Laidlaw said. “He was a small guy, but he didn’t care how big the guy was he was playing against, or how tough he was, he competed against him hard. He was a really good player. He wanted to do his job well.… Laidlaw said Pavelich was an entertaining and well-liked teammate. “After practice, he would go back to his apartment, get out his guitar and sing Bob Dylan songs,… Laidlaw said. “Of all the places Pav could have played, New York wasn’t a good fit for him,… Laidlaw said. “But he never let it bother him. He just was oblivious to the fact he was playing in New York. He just wanted to play hockey and not worry about anything elese. The Rangers were amused by Pavelich’s eccentricities. Pavelich didn’t enjoy media interviews, but agreed to do a post-game show if the station would buy him a fishing rod he wanted. A deal was struck. “I remember him carrying that fishing pole through the airport,… Laidlaw said. Pavelich finished his career in Switzerland, and then returned home to Minnesota where he could hunt and fish. I remember writing a story about an artist who did a lithograph of every member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team. He went everywhere to get every member to sign it. One of the hardest to track down was Pavelich. Finally, through the help of another player, Pavelich agreed to a signing. To find him, the lithograph designer followed instructions that looked like they could have been written for a trip in the 1840s.
The directions were like these, or something similar: "Look for the large Oak tree. Walk 50 paces to the East. When you reach the clearing, head north on the path."
Following the direction led to a garage in the middle of nowhere. At the prescribed time, Pavelich walked out the woods, unlocked the garage, turned over a 5-gallon paint bucket, sat on it and signed the lithographs. He didn’t say much. When the task was completed, he locked up the garage, said goodbye and walked off into the woods. “Mark just wanted to be who he was,… Laidlaw said. “He didn’t care what other people thought. He wanted to be a good hockey player, which he was, and then do what he wanted to do.… In 2002, Pavelich drove 22 hours, from Minnesota to Los Angeles, to join his 1980 teammates for a reunion at the NHL All-Star game. They found him sleeping on a trainer’s table at the arena. He hadn’t bothered to get a hotel room. Pav, as he was called, never changed who he was. Beck clearly enjoyed who Pavelich was. “I just talked with Mark two days ago in an exchange of emails. We asked each other the same question “ How are you doing?,… Beck wrote on Facebook last night. “At the end of the email we said “I love you… to each other as we often did. A week ago we had our first zoom call and it was great to physically see Mark again. We talked for an hour about everything and anything, then said our goodbyes with love.…