Pavelich joined the 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. 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. Wings manager,
Jack Adams, referred to Pavelich as "one of the four key men around whom we build our hockey club." 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''. 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. ==Later life and death==