Pavel Buchnevich has signed a new contract with the New York Rangers.

This guy????

So, no buyout ... we're making a trade. Confirmed.

Actually this opens a 2nd buyout window

Up, up, and away . . . and everybody thought that Toronto had cap problems. And then Las Vegas.

Four million plus over and still Lemieux and De Angelo to sign. One trade ain't gonna do it, unless they move Shattenkirk with virtually nothing coming back.

Tough this year and next but it opens up quite nicely after that...

How did the Rangers pull off this voodoo magic

Jeff Godton

How?

When you have players that file for arbitration, after you either sign them to and extension or settle at the hearing your allowed a 2nd 48 hour buy out period...

Oh, okay, i thought it was only players who go to arbitration.

So, does the buyout period start right away?

Not sure about that. Everyone’s saying Monday to Wednesday but I don’t know how that’s figured...

Incoming Brendan Smith buyout.

Stephenson was the #Capitals final Arb case.

As a result, a Second Buyout window will open up for Washington in 3 days & will remain open for 48hrs.

Reminder that any player bought out must have a cap hit of at least $3,455,438 & was on their reserve list at the trade deadline. https://t.co/ierVVvChKP

— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) July 27, 2019

That's why I think they should have signed him to one of the following deals:

$3,500,000 x 4 years = 28 at expiry (same as the Kerfoot Contract)
$4,000,000 x 5 years = 29 at expiry
$4,500,000 x 6 years = 30 at expiry

New York probably won't be a contender this year or next ... but they're likely to be one in years 3-6.

- If Buchnevich has a breakout year in either of the next 2 seasons (fairly likely) ... his cap-hit will jump from $3,250,000 to $7,000,000+
- This will eat up a big chunk of their newly freed up cap-space right when New York's window of contention opens
- They'll need this cap-space for guys like Zibanejad, Kakko Fox, Howden, Andersson, Chytil, Kravstov, Hajek, Goergiev, etc
- They'll also need to sign a few UFA's to round out the roster in a couple years (ex: Shattenkirk, Stall and Smith replacements)

The extra $250,000 - $1,250,000 would make it harder for NY to navigate this year ... but it would be more than worth it in years 3-6 when they're contending.

I made this exact same comment after Max Domi signed in Montreal (when everyone was praising Bergevin for the low AAV bridge deal).

- Montreal wasn't a contender last year and they won't be one this year
- They had plenty of cap space to lock Domi up for 4-7 years
- Domi was coming off a 45 point season (similar to Buchnevich)
- A long-term deal would only cost around $4,500,000 at that point

Now Domi will probably cost $7,500,000 - $9,000,000 on a long-term deal ...
Right when their cup window opens and all their best players + prospects need raises.

Thanks. Interesting about Washington. Not sure who they'd buy out though.

Or Staal or Shattenkirk.

I don't think it'll be Staal. Smith or Shattenkirk though.

Moving Shattenkirk will actually cost the Rangers. Probably at least a 1st rounder. Nobody is gonna ever take on his contract w/o serious additional comp. They need to figure out a way to dump him and Smith. If that's not sufficient, they'll need to trade Tony D or Namestnikov.

Staal is safe, in my opinion. Sgattenkirk is probably gonna veto a trade. Smith is gone-one way or the other.

Buying out Shattenkirk is ugly. They'd save big the 1st year but get absolutely crushed the following season. He's gonna have to agree to a trade or else he's not gonna waive his NTC. I'm thinking their gonna trade Namestnikov and buyout Smith. A lot depends on how much Tony D signs for. Is he $3.5M+???

Tony D could be $4M AAV alone and Lemieux has to be around $1.25M??? Maybe Skjei will get traded. I know they'd love to keep all their young D's but it's gonna be tough since the old guys don't have much trade value.

I think you're right about the term and the $$, but at least he'll be the only key FA after the 2020-21 season and he'll still be restricted. I think the strategy was a short term fix that allows the Rangers to save cap space in the short term until they decide what to do w/ their problem contracts. Once they dump Shattenkirk and Smith, and Staal becomes UFA things should open up a little. The problem you suggest is that Buchnevich could break out next season and become a $6M player in 2 years. That'll be very problematic, just like Domi will be next summer.

What can the Rangers do to solve their cap issues for next season? A lot of media have suggested trading Kreider as he's a pending UFA, but he's very valuable and could score 30-35G next season w/ Panarin in the top six and on the PP. However, I doubt they'll be able to keep Kreider after next season, especially if he has a big season. No chance they can pay him $7M+. I would actually trade Tony D and/or Namestmikov and dump Smith. If they can possibly keep Tony D, they'd do it but the numbers don't really add up. A lot will depend on whether or not they feel they can contend immediately. They can always move Kreider at the deadline if they're out of the playoff picture.

it's the other way around - these expiring are the reason they cant give him a long term deal just yet. in order to sign everyone, these will have to be replaced from within the farm system for the bottm 2-3 roles, which doesnt look unrealistic at the moment