OFFICIAL: New York Rangers Sign Pavel Buchnevich to Two-Year Contract Extension
The deal is worth $3.25 million a season.
Jeff Gorton has locked up another one of the team’s key RFAs by signing Pavel Buchnevich.
OFFICIAL: #NYR have agreed to terms with restricted free agent forward Pavel Buchnevich. pic.twitter.com/t6xmuZG5Rr
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) July 27, 2019
Buchnevich in at $3.25 Million per for two years. Buyout window closes Wednesday 5 pm.
— Larry Brooks (@NYP_Brooksie) July 27, 2019
Buchnevich just completed his ELC deal which saw him tally 43 goals, 58 assists, and 101 points in 179 games. Last season Buchnevich finished with a career high 21 goals, and his 38 points in 64 games (0.59 P/GP) were slightly better than his 2017-18 campaign of 43 points in 74 games (0.58 P/GP).
At $3.25 million (3.98% of the salary cap), this deal is somewhat comparable to the bridge Chris Kreider signed coming off his ELC which carried a cap hit of $2.475 million (3.59% of the salary cap).
Buchnevich was a slightly better offensive player in terms of counting stats, and here’s a quick tale of the tape for both players’ first 179 games.
In Kreider’s case, he was paid off of a shorter sample size because he joined the team during the 2011-12 playoffs. So while this isn’t an apple to apples comparison, it is more so a look at the start of both player’s careers and what Buchnevich could grow into.
As a result of this signing, the Rangers will have a secondary buyout window open, and it appears likely that the team will take advantage of it. But the Rangers can’t get out of all their problems with just a buyout, so it will be interesting to see what other moves Jeff Gorton has up his sleeves.