Pavel Buchnevich
This is the obvious one, as former New York Ranger Pavel Buchnevich is going to be on the market for the next eight hours. He's got an extra year on his contract making $5.8 million until the end of the 2025-26 season. With that term, he's going to cost more than a pure rental would. The certainty of the control of this player is something every team will want. It's going to be an expensive asset.
Buchnevich has sat at the point per game mark since the final season he had in New York. He's still an incredible defensive winger and knowing that the player is on the market is going to bring in a lot of interest. There's a few teams that are going to have a lot of interest in the Blues winger. Knowing that this is a down year in his production will also likely allow teams to come in a little lower than they would in other years.
In 61 games this season, Buchnevich has collected 24 goals and 24 assists for 48 points. He's done this on a Blues team that has struggled to score at any meaningful rate. With the Blues willing to retain to increase the return available to them, this is a player that could be extremely valuable due to the extra year on his deal. Another year of 25+ goals from a winger to play alongside Mika and Kreids is everything this team has needed since they traded him to the Blues.
With retention, something like the 2025 first-round pick with Brennan Othmann could interest the Blues and give Chris Drury the chance to fix the mistake he made when he gifted the Russian winger to St Louis all those years ago. Bring him back to an organization he knows, a fanbase that is familiar with him, and a building he found great success in after he was drafted by the Rangers back in 2013.