The Blues have locked in Pavel Buchnevich for six more years at $8M per season.
Instead of becoming a free agent after the 2024-25 season, Buchnevich will stay with St. Louis until 2030-31. The contract includes a full no-trade clause through 2028-29, then changes to a modified one for the last two years. His current deal’s no-trade list has also been upgraded to a full no-trade clause in its final year. In 2029-30, he can veto trades to 20 teams, and in 2030-31, that number drops to 15.
Currently, Buchnevich is playing on a $5.8M cap hit from his four-year extension signed in 2021 after moving from the Rangers. Last season, he scored 27 goals and had 63 points over 80 games—consistent with previous years but less impressive per game since he stayed healthier overall . He was more productive when playing fewer games due to injuries before.
Long-Term Strategy:
With this new deal, Buchnevich’s contract will end alongside Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas in 2031. It’s clear the Blues aim to win championships with their current core by then. Fans might think this move shows strong commitment to building around these key players.
The team is counting on Buchnevich returning to his point-per-game form and contributions from Jake Neighbours and new additions like Radek Faksa, Mathieu Joseph, and Alexandre Texier to boost an offense that ranked low last season with only 239 goals (24th in the league). Drew Bannister will be behind the bench for a full season after leading them as interim coach last year.
Buchnevich’s injury history is worth noting; he played a career-high of 80 games last year after missing significant time due to an ankle injury in the previous season. The hope is that his lower performance was due to recovery time rather than declining skills—a concern they believe won’t affect him next season since he’s healthy now.
This contract covers what should be Buchnevich’s prime years until age 35. Interestingly enough, he’s never tested free agency and won’t do so until late in his career.
What do you think about this long-term commitment?
