“Like sands through the hour glass, so are the days of our lives,” and so pass the arbitrary dates in the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement that dictate when contract negotiations can occur. Seeing as it’s now past 6/30/18, the Rangers are now allowed to extend Pavel Buchnevich, if that’s what they wanted to do, which naturally has given rise to some debate as to the advantages and disadvantages of doing so long term.
The alternative of course is a bridge deal, and the split between the two camps betrays some philosophical differences that have major implications for the Rangers’ roster renewal.