The New York Rangers are likely to be one of the more active teams before the 2024 Trade Deadline. They have some holes to fill, but the biggest concern is getting a top-line right-winger to play with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. Since the injury to Blake Wheeler, Jimmy Vesey has been the placeholder on that line, but he is not a long-term fix, and the Rangers are going to need to look outside the organization for help. One player whose name has surfaced as a potential target is Pavel Buchnevich from the St. Louis Blues.
The Blues are four points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference, and they don’t have a group that will get them into the playoffs. They are likely to sell off assets, and Buchnevich could be one of them. If this is the case, the Rangers should give the Blues a call and see what it would take to bring him back to New York because if they can make that trade, he would be a great fit, filling in with what’s been missing over the past few weeks.
Familiarity With Zibanejad and Kreider
Before he was traded to the Blues, Buchnevich was a staple on the top line with Zibanejad and Kreider – known as the “KZB Line”. They had been together for many years and were the team’s best line during that span. They know how to play with each other, and their games complement each other perfectly. In his last season with the team, Buchnevich set a career-high in points (at the time) and was one goal off of a career-high, with 20 goals and 48 points in 54 games during the 2021 shortened season. He was the play driver on his line, and his play was underrated during his time with the Rangers.
Since the Rangers traded him in the 2021 offseason, they have not been able to fill the void he left behind on that line. They have tried many different players, but none have had success over a long period, either because it wasn’t a good fit or because the player was a pending free agent and was not re-signed. Players like Frank Vatrano, Vladimir Tarasenko, Patrick Kane, Kaapo Kakko and others were tried on the first-line right wing, but none of them were as effective as Buchnevich. Even though he wasn’t perfect, he brought out the most in Zibanejad and Kreider, and they have missed him.
Buchnevich Is Not a Rental Player
Buchnevich is also not a rental player – he’s signed through next season with a $5.8 million cap hit. While it would be a tight squeeze to fit under the cap, it would be worth the effort, since the Rangers wouldn’t have to worry about finding yet another right-winger before next season. The cost to bring him back will likely be high, and while it wouldn’t be worth it if he was a rental, giving up the picks and prospects would hurt less with him on the roster next season. If he played well enough, the Rangers could even begin extension talks as early as this summer.
Related: Rangers Roundtable: 2024 Trade Deadline
He is having a good season on a poor Blues team, with 22 goals and 46 points in 55 games. He reached his career-high in goals and points during his first season in St. Louis, with 30 goals and 76 points in 73 games. He has grown into an all-around player, which is what he was becoming with the Rangers. Trading him was one of the worst and first big mistakes made by general manager Chris Drury. Trading back for him now will cost more than what the Rangers got at the time, but it would be worth it to have a player they know works well with the team’s best.
Potential Trade Package for Buchnevich
As mentioned earlier, a deal for Buchnevich will likely cost the Rangers some good assets. The Blues will be retooling and will want draft picks and prospects to help them build up their prospect pool and draft capital. The Rangers are not going to move either of their top two prospects, Gabe Perrault and Brennan Othmann. The team also won’t want to part with a player like Kakko because if they trade him, they are just creating another hole in the lineup. This deal would have to revolve around draft picks and other prospects in the system. In collaboration with Blues contributor Ethan Carter, we believe we have come up with a good starting package.
Our package would see the Blues send Buchnevich to the Rangers for their 2024 first-round pick, a conditional 2024 second-round pick and prospect Brett Berard. The condition on the second-round pick would be that it could turn into a 2025 first if the Rangers make the Stanley Cup Final this season.
Berard was a fifth-round pick in the 2020 Draft and is having a good first year in the American Hockey League with the Hartford Wolfpack. He has 17 goals and 34 points in 49 games and brings speed and skill that could very well fit as a bottom-six player in the NHL in the future. This is just an idea, but the Rangers are going to have to give up good assets if they want to acquire a player like Buchnevich.
The Rangers need to make some additions and address the hole on their first-line right wing. Buchnevich is a familiar name and has the experience of playing on the top line in New York successfully. It might cost the Rangers a lot, but if they want to win a Stanley Cup this season, they need to make a big move, and this is the move they should consider.