It’s the morning of the return of St. Louis Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich to his former city of New York, which makes it the perfect time to revisit the deal.
Pavel Buchnevich has been one of the St. Louis Blues’ best players this season in his first stint with the club after being acquired by the New York Rangers on July 23, 2021. The deal sent Sammy Blais and a 2022 second-round pick to the Rangers.
When draft picks are involved in trades, it’s hard to decide as to “who won the trade,” but just like the Ryan O’Reilly trade, all signs point to another Doug Armstrong masterpiece.
Buchnevich filled a gap that was supposed to be left behind by Vladimir Tarasenko. After the Russian star requested a trade in the offseason, Armstrong brought in another Russian as an insurance policy who could play in the Blues’ top six and be a staple on both special teams.
Buchnevich signed a four-year extension with his new team four days after the trade. The Blues now have the 26 year old for four years and currently holds a cap hit of $5.8k per season. This contract is already looking like a steal for St. Louis.
Even with an early suspension early in the year after a headbutt, Buchnevich has played in 46 games for the Blues and ranks second on the team in points behind fellow youngster Jordan Kyrou.
The winger has 19 goals and 27 assists on the year. He is tied for second on the team in goals and third on the team in assists. He is also one of five players with the team lead in powerplay goals with five.
What’s even more impressive than his offensive numbers this season is his versatility in the lineup. He plays on both special teams, and he has been placed up and down the St. Louis lineup.
Buchnevich started his Blues career by playing on the team’s top line with O’Reilly and David Perron. Since then, he has been on the team’s second and third line for most of the year. Though, to be fair, the Blues’ third line would be a top-6 pairing on most other teams.
He has played his best hockey this season when he is among his compatriots. The Russian line of Buchnevich, Tarasenko, and Ivan Barbashev proved to be one of the best lines in the league, and it came at a time when the Blues were dealing with a multitude of injuries.
There’s 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.