New York Rangers should trade Pavel Buchnevich

The New York Rangers would be smart to move on from another enigmatic Russian winger sooner rather than later.

So far, New York Rangers fans have discussed the possibilities of moving Tony DeAngelo and/or Ryan Strome to address some roster needs like another left-handed defenseman or a second-line center. But, why not use Pavel Buchnevich as the trade chip to add some much-needed depth–and grit–to the team?

Recently, Adam Herman of Blueshirt Banter wrote a nuanced article about the Buchnevich conundrum. I’ll take this a step further, though: Not only should the New York Rangers trade him right now because his value is at his highest, Buchnevich has shown the organization the type of player he’ll be for the rest of his career. And it’s all the more reason for general manager Jeff Gorton to trade him.

A mercurial square peg and a round hole

Ultimately, the need to trade Buchnevich stems from the player that he is. He is a finesse player on a team that has an abundance of them. He’s a top six forward who has yet to consistently show he can put up the production that warrants this label. And, most importantly for any team with playoff aspirations, he continues to be way too easy to play against.

Look, not every player has to throw their weight around and constantly take the body on every play. However, they need to be sandpaper (tough to play against). Unfortunately, Pavel Buchnevich–as evidenced throughout his whole career, but especially highlighted in the Carolina Hurricanes series–is not tough to play against. Opposing players can easily knock him off the puck or win any puck battle along the boards against him.

For a team truly to be a Stanley Cup hopeful, they need to be a three-dimensional team, meaning they can beat you in more ways other than finesse. Buchnevich, sadly, cannot, and anchoring this team with too many players like him can turn you into the Toronto Maple Leafs 2.0.

This calls for a hockey trade

Consider this, the Rangers have Julien Gauthier–who, in a very small sample, showed that he can be tenacious on the forecheck, and can use his speed to create offense by drawing penalties (and penalty shots)–Vitali Kravtsov–who, in an even smaller sample size, has taken his learnings from North American hockey and applied them to the KHL and is scoring at a historic pace–and Kaapo Kakko–who, in the Carolina Hurricanes series looked like a completely different player, the type of player that uses his size and skill to control the puck and offense.

The Rangers would be wise to explore Pavel Buchnevich trades that return a gritty top nine winger. Hell, if it brings the organization some salary cap relief and another asset (a mid-round draft pick), even better. The point is, the New York Rangers know what they have in Buchnevich. And it’s not the type of player that this roster needs.