Pavel Buchnevich is a restricted free agent at season’s end, and there’s no shortage of opinion on his play and what to do with him for the remainder of the season.
Hopes and expectations were high for Buchnevich heading into this season, as he was coming off a 43-point campaign and he was finally free of Alain Vigneault. But that was then, and this is now, and in January 2019 the young Russian has a line of nine goals and six assists for 15 points in 32 games. A offensive outburst might have convinced the front office that he was a player on the rise deserving of long-term contract, but he’s likely headed toward a bridge deal.