Blues Trade Rumors: 6 Likely Destinations Listed for Pavel Buchnevich

One of the top-end offensive options on the trade market as we approach the deadline would appear to be St. Louis Blues forward Pavel Buchnevich. With one more year remaining on his deal with a $5.8 million cap hit, he's got plenty of suitors if the Blues are willing to pull the trigger on such a blockbuster move.

Per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, "a lot of teams believe that when push comes to shove in giving Buchnevich his next deal, that the St. Louis Blues aren't going to be the team that ponies up probably north of $8 million (AAV) to get him signed."

But his value among rivals is unquestioned. "Is there a more unheralded point-per-game player in the league?" To nab him now at his discounted price and get two playoff runs out of him has plenty of teams looking to make a deal. The reported asking price is at least two first-round picks.

With that, Seravalli runs down six potential landing spots to keep an eye on if the Blues move Buchnevich:

Edmonton Oilers
Buffalo Sabres
Carolina Hurricanes
Detroit Red Wings
New York Rangers
Vegas Golden Knights

This list can really be broken down into two factions: The teams that are still looking to put some finishing touches on a rebuild and get to the next level (Buffalo and Detroit), and the teams that are ready to go "all in" and make a push for the Stanley Cup right now (Edmonton, Carolina, NYR, Vegas).

Edmonton is the team that stands out most for Seravalli. If the Oilers were considering the Pittsburgh Penguins' Jake Guentzel as a star addition to their top-six—which there has been plenty of chatter about—then why not go for a strong facsimile who's still signed for another year?

Another notable team on the list is the Rangers, who drafted the Russian winger in the third round in 2013, and developed him into a 20-goal scorer. They know full well what he can be, and would love to jump back in on the Buchnevich bandwagon now that he's a fully formed star forward.

As for the defending champs, the Golden Knights are definitely on the prowl for a scoring forward, after having lost captain Mark Stone once again for what would appear to be the balance of the regular season.

The 28-year-old Buchnevich has 79 goals and 190 points in 192 games in his three seasons with the Blues, after scoring the same number of goals with the Rangers in 301 games.

Photo: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports