Say what you will about current St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong, but he's pulled off some impressive trades in his tenure. Nobody thought he could dump the Jori Lehtera contract, and he turned that into Brayden Schenn.
He acquired Ryan O'Reilly prior to winning the Stanley Cup. Army also acquired Cam Fowler out of the blue for essentially nothing.
However, his biggest move in terms of impossibility might be one he hasn't made, but should explore. Armstrong should attempt to trade Pavel Buchnevich.
Don't get me wrong - the Blues don't absolutely have to get rid of Buchnevich. He's liked in the locker room from what we know and he provides enough on the ice to keep around.
Yet, Armstrong said in his postseason comments that he knows the team needs to make improvements for 2025-26, and there might not be enough you can do to the roster without making a big move. Getting someone to take Buchnevich would be a very big move.
When the Blues re-signed Buchnevich to an extension, it was met with a reaction on both sides. Some understood the idea that you don't want to lose a goal scorer, but plenty didn't like the money given, nor the length of the contract.
Given the expectation that the salary cap will rise quite a bit over the next few seasons, the salary may not be as horrible as it seems. Buchnevich may not currently put up the stats you want from an $8 million player, but as the cap rises, he may end up fitting that exact mold of what an $8 million player will be worth in a few years.
Buchnevich is currently 30, so he still has potential good years left in him. However, he'll be 36 by the end of his contract, which could see him either be completely on E in the tank or still chugging along as a third liner.
So, why get rid of him? The main reason is attempting to strike before the iron gets too cold. As of right now, Buchnevich is still in that phase where teams may think he'll rebound in their roster.
Buchnevich was brought into the Blues as a potential 30-goal scorer when given an expanded role. He did just that in his first season in St. Louis, scoring 30 goals and 76 points, both of which were career highs.
Alas, the goals and the points have gone down every single season since then. Some of his numbers were affected by an ill-advised experiment of using him as a center even when the team had a healthy roster, but that's not enough to really say why the numbers keep going down.
In addition to the regular season numbers going down, we can't ignore the lack of playoff success. Supporters of Buchnevich will say he's got 20 points in 27 career playoff games, but how many of those were truly in crunch time? He has been a non-factor in far too many important playoff games, including his panic mode that led to the Winnipeg Jets eventually tying Game 7 of the 2025 first-round playoff series.
One thing standing in the way of a potential trade is that Buchnevich was given a no-trade clause until 2029. He then has a modified no-trade clause those final two seasons where he can submit a list of teams he would not accept a trade to.
Nevertheless, you could still explore a deal, and then it comes down to the language you use to Buch. If you frame it in a way that sounds like this other team really wants him and you're only seeing what he thinks about it, it doesn't sound so much like you're trying to dump him.
Perhaps this new team plays a style that would open up more offensive numbers for Buchnevich. You might have to get creative with how you present it.
Most people don't dislike Buchnevich, myself included. It's just that the reality is he's essentially just Vladimir Tarasenko Jr.
Buchnevich is considered a better defender, and he can be, but he also checks out on back checks and sometimes isn't the quickest off the ice during important line change opportunities. We can't ignore that costly giveaway that cost the Blues against Winnipeg either. A top-line player should not panic in those situations, and that was not a lone incident.
He set a career high for giveaways in 2024-25, a number which has also gone up over the last three seasons. So, if the Blues can get someone to bite, why wouldn't you attempt to trade him and free up some room?
If Armstrong pulled off one of his miracles, maybe you get an old-school hockey trade, and the Blues acquire a center for their middle six. Even if this new center only scored 20ish goals, you potentially make up for the numbers with a full season of Jimmy Snuggerud or Dalibor Dvorsky.
If you can't pick up a center in the deal, perhaps you can at least clear up the financial space to sign a guaranteed second-line center or maybe even a top-line center and bump Robert Thomas down a line. Wishful thinking, yes, but not completely unthinkable.
As stated above, the Blues will still be respectable, and he'll put up ok numbers if Buchnevich stays. If you can convince him and another team, though, he's nowhere near untouchable, and Armstrong would provide one final bit of magic that could set the team up for even higher goals in the next few seasons.