According to TSN’s Darren Dreger and confirmed by a few additional sources, the New York Rangers have traded forward Pavel Buchnevich to the St. Louis Blues ahead of this evening’s NHL Entry Draft. Buchnevich was a player who had been mentioned in the trade rumor mill over the past couple of days and it’s an interesting deal, because it might take the Blues out of any running for UFA forward Gabriel Landeskog.
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The Blues have sent Sammy Blais and a 2nd round pick in 2022 for Buchnevich and reports are St. Louis has already held extension talks with Buchnevich throughout the afternoon. The hint here is that a deal will be forthcoming, otherwise the Blues likely wouldn’t have made the trade for the RFA. That said, Chris JohPavelnston reports, “It doesn’t sound like there’ll be a Pavel Buchnevich contract extension immediately following his trade to #stlblues. Those talks are expected after the weekend.”
Buchnevich is projected to come in at a price point of about $5.5M to $5.8M. He had a great season with 48 points in 54 games for the Rangers. Many will argue he’s worth it, but it’s hard to know exactly what he’ll be paid and if he’ll pan out over the long term. He’s trended in the right direction over the past three seasons. He could be a top-end first line winger who’s been consistently strong at both ends of the ice.
As for Blais, he played in 15 playoff games during Blues Stanley Cup run. He’s got an in-your-face style and is strong on the forecheck. He can hit hit and a disrupt. which is exactly the type of player the Rangers were looking for after issues with their push-back were brought up this past season.
Does This Take the Blues Out on Landeskog?
One of the teams reportedly interested in pending UFA Gabriel Landeskog — assuming he didn’t re-sign with the Colorado Avalanche — were the Blues. Does a deal with Buchnevich take them out of that potential bidding war? Or, is St. Louis really going after it and possibly looking to add both players?
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