Before their matchup against Las Vegas on Sunday, New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault shuffled his lineup, scratching one of his top point producers this season in Pavel Buchnevich.
Early this season, Pavel Buchnevich seemed to be getting the opportunity he deserved as a part of the Rangers top line.
Buchnevich currently has the third-most points on the Rangers with 26 (11 goals, 15 assists). This is despite the fact that he has seen fewer minutes than many of the Rangers forwards with fewer points.
Buchnevich has an averaged 14:44 in average time on ice through 41 games. This is nearly three minutes less than his first line counterpart, Mika Zibanejad (17:54), and nearly a minute less than Chris Kreider (15:34).
And it goes beyond just those on the top line.
J.T. Miller has only one point more than Buchnevich this season and has seen over a minute more ice time per game. Kevin Hayes who has just 17 points this season has played an average of 17:04.
Around the league, players who also have 26 points include players like Wayne Simmonds, T.J. Oshie, and Joe Pavelski. Aside from their point totals, all of these players have two things in common. One, they play on the top line for their team. Two, they average over 18 minutes of ice time a night (Simmonds, 18:39; Oshie, 18:47; Pavelski, 18:56).
What Vigneault is doing to Buchnevich is only hurting his team. Buchnevich is one of the few players on the ice that has constantly generated opportunity for his team this season.
Buchnevich seeing less than 15 minutes on the ice on average and playing on the fourth line is bad. Sending him to the press box is worse.
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The bottom line
Vigneault’s current view of Pavel Buchnevich has to change.
Buchnevich has proven that the right set of skills to be an elite player in the NHL. He has great vision, can pass and shows decisive action when he has control of the puck. He plays hard on the forecheck and can use his hands to knock opponents off the puck. His speed and skating ability mean he can get in, put himself in dangerous areas of the ice and generate high-quality chances for himself and his teammates.
Putting two clear bottom six forwards (Jesper Fast and Paul Carey) in the lineup on the first and second line and sending one of your best forwards to the press box is illogical, and honestly reprehensible.
It is no secret that Vigneault has a hard time with young players on his roster. We saw him do something similar to Kevin Hayes just a few seasons ago.
His treatment of Buchnevich is baseless and will only hurt his young forward’s development.
Not only does Buchnevich’s ceiling extend far beyond that of Hayes, but from what I have seen, Buchnevich has been playing consistently good hockey. He adds skill and value to a roster that has been struggling to determine its identity this season.
Vigneault forcing Buchnevich out of a role which he clearly deserves will only hurt the Rangers.
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It seems that Vigneault thinks that Pavel Buchnevich has been a part of the Rangers’ problem when the stat sheet shows that he could be one of the biggest proponents of their success.