Rangers general manager Chris Drury’s remodeling of the team continued Friday, when he dealt five-year lineup staple Pavel Buchnevich to the Blues in exchange for 25-year-old Sammy Blais and a 2022 second-round pick.
The move came a day after the Blueshirts locked up bottom-six grinder Barclay Goodrow with a six-year, $21.85 million contract, and a week after trading Brett Howden to the Golden Knights. And with the start of free agency on Wednesday, the Rangers may have more renovations in store.
Trading Buchnevich was necessary for the Rangers financially, because key players such as goalie Igor Shesterkin, Norris Trophy-winner Adam Fox and top-line center Mika Zibanejad are due for substantial raises over the next two seasons. The Rangers may have an abundance of cap space this offseason, but it is expected to dissipate quickly.
Buchnevich, a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, was searching for a long-term deal, which the Rangers simply wouldn’t have been able to afford.
By shipping Buchnevich to St. Louis, Drury also freed up playing time and a spot in the top six for younger players such as Kaapo Kakko or Vitaly Kravtsov. One of the Rangers’ most pressing lineup obstacles last season was having top-six caliber wingers buried in the bottom six. Buchnevich’s departure creates a vacancy that the Rangers can likely fill internally.
“There’s only so much cap space to go around and there’s only so much ice time to go around,” Drury said Friday night. “I feel really good about our depth at winger.”
After being drafted in the third round (75th overall) by the Rangers in 2013, Buchnevich posted 79 goals and 116 assists in 301 games over five seasons, and had a career-high 48 points (20 goals, 28 assists) in 54 games last season.
Dealing a restricted free agent (RFA) with arbitration rights who is set to reach unrestricted status next summer is a tough sell for a general manager under any conditions, let alone in a flat-salary cap world.
But it appears the return of a 2022 second-rounder and Blais, a north-south physical winger, is what Drury was looking for. The Rangers also now have eight picks in the 2022 entry draft, including three picks in the first two rounds and six in the first four.
Blais comes with a cap hit of a mere $1.5 million, which is much cheaper than what Buchnevich will get, and will become an arbitration eligible RFA next summer. At 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, Blais is a big-bodied competitor, the type of player with which the Rangers want to stock their roster. Like Goodrow, Blais is a defensive forward who can bolster the bottom six with more grit and tenacity.
“I think [Blais] brings a lot of size, a good physical edge, I think he has some offensive upside,” Drury said. “The minutes he’s played in the past, he’s had good production.”
The Quebec native, who was drafted by St. Louis in the sixth round in 2014, will also bring playoff experience after winning the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019. Blais has competed in the playoffs in three of his four NHL seasons, posting a combined three goals and five assists in 27 postseason games.
In 36 games last season, Blais had eight goals and seven assists. He has 35 points (17 goals, 18 assists) over 119 career NHL games.