The Pavel Buchnevich deal is a major win for the St. Louis Blues forwards

Earlier this year, we didn’t know if the St. Louis Blues would keep Pavel Buchnevich, but that changed yesterday when he signed a six-year extension. Now that Buchnevich will remain in the Midwest for a while, Blues fans everywhere can rejoice even if teams like the Utah Hockey Club and Chicago Blackhawks pose a greater challenge this season.  

So why was I excited to hear the news of Buchnevich staying in St. Louis for another six seasons? One reason is the sheer number of forwards they already have locked into contracts, and it’s a number we can add Buchnevich to. Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, and Jake Neighbours are others who have or will sign long-term.

And I can’t remind fans enough that Dalibor Dvorsky and Jimmy Snuggerud will also be joining this lineup sometime down the road, so that makes seven potentially solid-to-elite scorers in this lineup once they’re all wearing the blue. Add Zach Dean and Zachary Bolduc to the mix, and boom, general manager Doug Armstrong has written a tried and soon-to-be proven script on how to successfully revamp a roster without tearing everything down and starting over. 

Pavel Buchnevich deal is a major win for the St. Louis Blues, but…

The sheer upside with Pavel Buchnevich re-signing with the Blues is how stable the forward group will be, but the issue lies with the defensemen. If the Blues take that step back this season, don’t expect Colton Parayko, Justin Faulk, Nick Leddy, and Torey Krug to all remain members of this hockey team. 

Not all of them will be traded in such a scenario, but we can agree Doug Armstrong will find suitors for one or more of these blueliners amidst a potentially down season, trading them to teams that are closer to or are in contention. But, I’ll also say this - if Pavel Buchnevich didn’t feel this team could be just as good, or even better, than they were last season, he wasn’t re-signing for another six years. 

Take that as a signal that better days are ahead for the Blues, even if those better days don’t occur in 2024-25. Overall, it was an outstanding move for Armstrong to promptly act to keep Buchnevich, meaning we can officially remove him from trade discussions in the near future. 

The forward group, both those on the team and making their way through the pipeline, is more than promising. And even if we see some retooling among the blueliners, this past NHL Draft definitely provides hope on that front.