Rangers may consider trading Pavel Buchnevich to creative Blues: Report
Having addressed the need for a third-line center by acquiring Alex Wennberg, the New York Rangers are expected to make an even bigger deal for a first-line right winger before Friday’s NHL trade deadline.
All signs point to the Rangers working on the return of Frank Vatrano to fill their need at right tackle. But is there another reunion option in this position?
Rumors coming out of St. Louis say Blues general manager Doug Armstrong is willing to “get creative” with a trade for former Blueshirts forward Pavel Buchnevich. Creative could mean the Blues keep half of Buchnevich’s $5.8 million salary through the 2024-25 season.
That means a player who has scored 20 goals five times could have two playoff appearances and an average annual value of $2.9 million. If that sounds too good to be true for the Rangers, it probably is.
“Armstrong was reportedly on the market for the equivalent of a first-round pick, and in order to maintain (his salary) Teams will be forced to add more asset-driven premiums.”
For argument’s sake, that theoretically means the Rangers’ 2024 first-round pick could be Brennan Osman or Gabe Perreault, along with linebacker candidates Drew Fortescue, Brett Berard, Adam Sykora, or That could probably mean Zach Jones. That doesn’t take into account Buchnevich’s relationship with the Rangers. Buchenweich was traded from the Rangers to the Blues on July 23, 2021 due to salary cap issues, but it appears there is no love lost between the two. Buchnevich performed well in St. Louis.
The 28-year-old has scored 191 points, including 80 goals, in 196 games since being traded to the Blues. In the 2021-22 season, he scored an NHL career-high 30 goals and 76 points, and this season he played in 60 games and scored 24 goals and 48 points.
Among the forwards on the trade market, perhaps the only one more attractive than Buchnevich is Jake Guentzel of the Pittsburgh Penguins. There is no pressure on the Blues to trade Buchnevich. They have him under contract through next season, and with 20 games remaining this season, they are six points out of the second wild card spot in the Western Conference Stanley Cup Playoffs. But this is also a team clearly looking to rebuild or reset, and trading Buchnevich could help accelerate that plan.
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