When the Blues acquired Buchnevich, the expectations werent for him to have the enormous season he did in 2021-22. The Blues are benefiting from that cap mismanagement, as hes only two points shy of his career-best scoring production, set last season. But just when No. No one jumps out with a super high rate of zone entries; rather there are three puck-carriers who tend to have control when they enter the offensive zone. Theyre doing good and theyre in a playoff spot, so probably good for them, too, he said. July 23, 2021. ", Was Blais and a pick the best deal the Rangers could get? Like Goodrow, Blais is a defensive forward who can bolster the bottom six with more grit and tenacity. Management had to look ahead at rising costs down the middle with Mika Zibanejad and Ryan Strome reaching unrestricted free agency this summer (the former has since signed an $8.5 million AAV extension) and Adam Foxs impending second deal (which was also signed post-trade, coming in at $9.5 million AAV). Hes a cerebral player who sees the ice well and creates passing lanes to set up linemates in quality areas. I start filling my role, and I think its good so far.. Financial terms were not disclosed. Its a fun exercise to see how this all plays out. Both games . By shipping Buchnevich to St. Louis, Drury also freed up playing time and a spot in the top six for younger players such as Kaapo Kakko or Vitaly Kravtsov. Again, objectively, its a bad trade. We've received your submission. The trickier part of shifting sides can be the defensive adjustment, but his overall two-way growth has shown. Then Blais was lost for the season, and now Kakko is sidelined as well. Give what we know now, with or without Buchnevich, the Vitali Kravtsov debacle would have happened, so thats irrelevant now. He plays on both special teams, and he has been placed up and down the St. Louis lineup. From general manager Chris Drurys perspective, was this a mistake? One of the Rangers most pressing lineup obstacles last season was having top-six caliber wingers buried in the bottom six. Buchnevich, 26, is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. Theres no doubt that Buchnevich has kept the team afloat during a bizarre 2021-22 season, and even though he came in as somewhat of an unknown to the club, the Blues have a great two-way winger in their arsenal for a deep postseason push. The Rangers helped develop the winger into one of their best two-way players, who had a stellar 2020-21 season in all situations, and now have nothing like him. In New York, youre going to see Wednesday, its a crazy crowd there, too. They insisted on high-end young players the Rangers weren't willing to part with, such as Alexis Lafrenire and Kaapo Kakko, while simultaneously asking for oversized returns from other interested teams. As Buchnevich makes his first trip back to Madison Square Garden since the deal, lets analyze why it happened and how hes progressed since with the Blues. 'Active' : 'Inactive'}} players, Search {{searchActivePlayers ? I mean, tough question, Buchnevich said. He's already put his stamp on the roster by adding Goodrow and Blais to make the Rangers a more physically imposing team. He played a major role in the Blues hard-hitting success en route to a Stanley Cup title in 2019. Right off the top, lets stipulate that the optics of trading your first-line right winger for a bottom-six guy and a second-round draft pick is not going to make for an easy sell. 9. for. "As you can see with some of the moves we've made, were trying to reshape and get a little different look in our bottom six," Drury said. The second-round pick became defenseman Elias Salomonsson after the pick was traded from the Rangers to the Winnipeg Jets for Andrew Copp during the trade deadline last season. This was not former coach David Quinns fault, but there were almost always guys out of place in the lineup because there was no defined spot for them. All betting content is intended for an audience ages 21+. He played with grit, was diligent without the puck, developed into a superior penalty killer and for the most part lost the not-at-all charming woe-is-me body language that had become a trademark his younger years. Hes third among forwards in average ice time per game (18 minutes), which includes time on the leagues No. Arbitration eligible and one year away from unrestricted free agency, Buchnevich was (and is) likely to command between $5.5 million and $6.5 million per on his next multiyear deal. I think we're on our way to doing that.". And like Barclay (Goodrow), hes another guy that walks in our room with having a ton of playoff experience and also a Stanley Cup ring. The hardest part is to be on the D-zone on the wall when the puck is coming to you. Multiple people close to the situation indicated he had been trying to shop Buchnevich for one all summer to no avail. Buchnevich's contract situation may have reduced what other teams were willing to offer in return, particularly those feeling the squeeze of the flat salary cap. He will not be easy to replace. That was happening. They believe so. Since then, he has been on the teams second and third line for most of the year. That was basically it.". The awful Pavel Buchnevich trade came up on social media yesterday, and since 280 characters isnt enough to provide an accurate review, lets go through this in more detail. Dynamic two-way winger. "I'm excited to have Pavel join our group," Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. If no results appear, use Enter to do a full site search. He recorded 28 points (14-14) in 76 games over the past two seasons while getting an average of 12:20 of ice time a night playing a fair amount on a line with Ryan OReilly. Welcome to NHL.com, the official site of the National Hockey League, Bienvenue LNH.com , le site officiel de la Ligue nationale de hockey, Tervetuloa NHL:n viralliselle nettisivustolle NHL.comiin, Vlkommen till NHL.com, NHL:s officiella web-sida, Vtejte na NHL.com, oficilnch strnkch National Hockey League, Vitajte na NHL.com, oficilnych strnkach National Hockey League, Willkommen auf NHL.com, der offiziellen Seite der National Hockey League, Bienvenido a NHL.com, el sitio oficial de la National Hockey League, Blues acquire Pavel Buchnevich from Rangers for forward Sammy Blais and a second-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images). Blues Pavel Buchnevich is Proving His Value in Multiple Ways, Revisiting the Sharks Erik Karlsson Trade, Devils Home Opener Preview: 10/15/22 Detroit Red Wings, Oilers News & Rumors: McDavid, Draisaitl, Plans for Game 4, NHL Rumors: Flyers, Penguins, Canadiens, Flames, Jets, 3 Early Candidates to Fill Blue Jackets Head Coaching Vacancy, 4 Takeaways From Islanders 5-2 Loss vs Hurricanes, Forgotten Lightning Stanley Cup Champions: Cedric Paquette, 3 Rangers Predictions for the Rest of the Series vs. the Devils, 3 Bruins Standing Out in 1st Round of Playoffs, Remembering What Made Mario Lemieux the Greatest, Panthers Alex Lyon Deserves a Roster Spot Next Season, 3 Keys to Winnipeg Jets Success in Game 4, Maple Leafs News & Rumors: OReilly, Knies, Rielly & Acciari, Lightning Need Vasilevskiy to Be Better to Salvage Series. Blais tallied four assists in 14 games before the injury last season and he recorded more ice time than he ever did with the Blues on average. Type part of a player's name, or hover over a team at left. 'inactive' : 'active'}} players. The trade ends multiple seasons of trade speculation surrounding Buchnevich, despite the Rangers forward being one of their most productive. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. Hell be arbitration-eligible after next season. 8.80. 2 power play (2:20) and the No. Buchnevich (upper body) is expected to play Thursday versus the Rangers, coach Craig Berube told Lou Korac of NHL.com. Pavel Buchnevich Traded to Blues From Rangers Generate Trade Suggestions SIGN UP. Buchnevich is a restricted free agent. He was on this past last year as well. I just think its playing with good players, he said. He's 26 years old. That helps generate offense off the rush and gain the zone to set up to cycle. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Rangers ship Buchnevich to Blues for Blais, pick, Keys to the offseason: Free agency, draft plans for Rangers, other eliminated teams, New Jersey Devils brutally troll New York Rangers on Twitter with "Taken" edit, Devils blank Rangers for 1st series win since 2012, Snoop Dogg joins Sparks' bid to buy Senators, Wild's Eriksson Ek tried to play with broken leg, Fleury wants to return to Wild, even as a backup, Flames fire coach Sutter after three seasons, Panthers limit ticket sales to block Leafs fans, Kraken win 1st playoff series, oust champion Avs, Stanley Cup Playoffs Central: Bracket, schedule, scores, highlights, Wait, the Bruins lost? Use arrows to navigate between autocomplete results. Is an asset on both special teams. A flat salary cap pressured the Rangers especially since they had signed Chris Kreider to a hefty extension just before the 2019-20 season paused. In the final season of a bridge deal signed in 2018, he. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. Remember we are missing the Blais impact, and whether or not hed be a more viable player on the third line over Gauthier, who drives play but cant score to save his life. There is ample cap space with which to address those areas with the free-agent market opening Wednesday. Pavel Buchnevich of the New York Rangers is now a member of the St. Louis Blues. When he was with the New York Rangers, the potential to score 30 goals and tally nearly a point per game was there, but it didnt come to fruition until he was in St. Louis. We've received your submission. Enter Search Term. Are The St. Louis Blues Among The NHLs Elite Teams, St. Louis Blues Pros/Cons From 2021-22 Game 53 At NY Rangers, Druw Jones Hits Home Run as High School Crowd Chants 'Overrated', St. Louis Blues Pros/Cons From 2021-22 Game 52 At Chicago, St. Louis Blues Pros/Cons From 2021-22 Game 50 At Philadelphia, St. Louis Blues Pros/Cons From 2021-22 Game 49 At Toronto. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. They traded winger Pavel Buchnevich to the St. Louis Blues for forward Sammy Blais and a 2022 second-round pick.. Buchnevich had 20 goals and 28 assists for 48 points in 54 games last season. In 46 games with the Blues, Buchnevich is tied for second on the roster in goals (19), game-winning goals (three) and points (46). When we add the nuance, we see how and why the Rangers moved him. https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2022/03/01212019/Buch-PP-points.mp4, https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2022/03/01212045/Buch-Thomas-Tarasenko.mp4, https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2022/03/01212133/Buch-Thomas.mp4, https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2022/03/01212115/Buch-Tarasenko.mp4, https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2022/03/01212235/Buchnevich-OK.mp4. So does the organizational deficit down the middle that was not addressed in Round One of the draft, when the Rangers tapped winger Brennan Othmann as the 16th selection, rather than a pair of highly regarded centers on the board. After averaging 1.04 points per game last season (76 in 73 games), Buchnevich was at a slightly high clip, 1.06 point per game on 67 points (26 goals, 41 assists) in 63 games, but what's even more . All Rights Reserved. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. I dont think it takes much of a discussion to see that. But much of the analysis of this trade depends on what happens next. Sign up for our regular 'Rangers Newsletter' for all the latest. The Russian forward is blossoming into an offensive force as he moves through the prime of his career. (Photo: Vaughn Ridley / NHLI via Getty Images). Trading Buchnevich was necessary for the Rangers financially, because key players such as goalie Igor Shesterkin, Norris Trophy-winner Adam Fox and top-line center Mika Zibanejad are due for substantial raises over the next two seasons. Fantasy trade analysis and advice for trading Pavel Buchnevich for Charlie McAvoy and help determining if the trade is fair . He remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury for the start of the 2022-23 season, but he should be back with the Rangers soon. And with all the players who are going to need new contracts in the coming years, they reached the conclusion that Buchnevich was expendable due to the presence of skilled young wingers such as Lafrenire, Kakko and Vitali Kravtsov and veterans Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider. He mismanaged an asset and got a poor return. The cap space argument doesnt carry much weight anymore. Pavel Buchnevich for Charlie McAvoy Trade values and analysis involving Pavel Buchnevich & Charlie McAvoy. 75) of the 2013 NHL Draft, Buchnevich has scored 195 points (79 goals, 116 assists) in 301 regular-season games and has one assist in eight Stanley Cup Playoff games. Hes playing slightly less ice time and has more on-the-fly shifts than in the past, but that usage can be fitting for more-offensive players. "I think he brings a lot of size, a good physical edge. Theyre hungry for hockey. That was the overall goal of the Buchnevich trade. (18) were close. None of those especially since management had already soured on Kravtsov was a given. The Blues give their first and second units a much more even split than the Rangers, who lean heavily on their top unit (on which he wasnt a mainstay). Signs were pointing to Buchnevich being dealt for weeks, but it wasn't for the star center the Rangers were thought to be seeking.
