Jesper Fast

New York Rangers Recall Pavel Buchnevich

By Gavin Lee | at March 2, 2017 10:02 am

Well that didn’t take long. After sending Pavel Buchnevich down to the Hartford Wolfpack two days ago, the New York Rangers have deemed him necessary once again. He has been recalled to the NHL ahead of their game against the Boston Bruins tonight.

Buchnevich scored two goals and recorded an assist in the Wolfpack’s 4-3 victory last night, making it five points in the four games he’s spent in the AHL this season. In his 21 NHL contests, the 21-year old Russian forward has registered 15 points.

Drafted in the third round in 2013, this is Buchnevich’s first year on North American ice. He played in the KHL the past four seasons including alongside Ilya Kovalchuk and several other former NHLers on St. Petersburg at the end of last year. The rail-thin forward has magic hands that can do pretty much anything with the puck, and like other Russian snipers that have come before him has a howitzer from the circle.

Though the adjustments are still being made to the NHL game and ice, Buchnevich should be a good player in the league for a long time. His recall comes after news that Jesper Fast will miss a few weeks after being injured in practice. The Rangers added defense at the deadline, but will use Buchnevich as their forward addition.

Trade Deadline Summary: Winners & Losers Of The Metropolitan Division

By Zach Leach | at March 1, 2017 6:42 pm

The NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone, and while it wasn’t the most exciting deadline day in recent memory, there were quite a few notable moves. Here are the winners and losers of the dominant Metropolitan Division:

Winners

Carolina Hurricanes:

Acquired 2017 second-round pick and Danny Kristo from Pittsburgh Penguins for Ron Hainsey
Acquired 2017 third-round pick from the Ottawa Senators for Viktor Stalberg

Not all that much happening in Raleigh, but what GM Ron Francis did do, he did well. Both Hainsey and Stalberg brought back returns that were greater than their market value. It was also nice of Francis to send Hainsey to a team where his career-long playoff drought would definitely be snapped. Not sure why Jay McClement wasn’t moved, but there simply may not have been interest. The Hurricanes have a ton of salary cap space and have to dip into their depth on defense sooner or later, but this year’s deadline was definitely not the time for big moves. Expect Carolina to be a major player in the off-season trade market.

New Jersey Devils:

Acquired Dalton Prout from the Columbus Blue Jackets for Kyle Quincey
Acquired 2017 sixth-round pick from the Nashville Predators for P.A. Parenteau

The Devils didn’t really have any trade capital today other than Quincey and Parenteau, so good on GM Ray Shero for doing what he could with what he had. It’s strange that New Jersey was able to get a higher pick from the Predators for Vernon Fiddler earlier this season than they did for Parenteau, but injuries may have played into that. A full season of production and a draft pick in compensation isn’t that bad a return for an early-season waiver claim. The Quincey deal was the real star of the show though. The Devils went from taking a risk on an older, washed-up defenseman this off-season to trading him for a young, strong defensive defenseman who can be a starter for years with the team. Shero played the long con on the league this year, and it paid off.

Pittsburgh Penguins:

Acquired Ron Hainsey from Carolina Hurricane for 2017 second-round pick and Danny Kristo
Acquired Mark Streit from Tampa Bay Lightning for 2018 fourth-round pick
Acquired Frank Corrado from Toronto Maple Leafs for Eric Fehr, Steve Oleksy, and a 2017 fourth-round pick

Sure, the Penguins didn’t get Kevin Shattenkirk or Martin Hanzal, both of whom they were targeting. They also didn’t add a single forward. Oh, and they never moved Marc-Andre Fleury. But are you really worried? Pittsburgh won the Stanley Cup in 2016-17 with an almost identical group. With Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in the fold, they simply make due up front. Matt Murray has been lights out and the team can deal with Fleury after the fact. The only real issue facing the Penguins was injuries on defense and they responded by acquiring three defensemen, two of which are bona fide starters and the other could be a long-term addition. GM Jim Rutherford didn’t plan on having a big deadline this season and he carried out that plan. Pittsburgh is ready for the postseason.

Washington Capitals:

Acquired Kevin Shattenkirk and Pheonix Copley from the St. Louis Blues for a 2017 first-round pick, a conditional 2019 draft pick, Zach Sanford, and Brad Malone

This one is pretty self-explanatory. The best team in the NHL went out and got the best player available and did so without having to give up all that much. A first-rounder is always tough to surrender, but that is the going rate for top-of-the-line rentals. Sanford is a good prospect and will be a good player. However, he and whoever St. Louis selects at #31 will mean nothing if and when the Capitals take home the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Losers

Columbus Blue Jackets:

Acquired Kyle Quincey from New Jersey Devils for Dalton Prout
Acquired Lauri Korpikoski from Dallas Stars for Dillon Heatherington

The Blue Jackets weren’t expecting to be in the position they are right now, but the reality is that they are in this position and they should have made the most of it. While the Capitals add Kevin Shattenkirk and the Penguins load up on defensive depth, the Blue Jackets simply swap Prout for Quincey in what very well could be a lateral move. If Columbus had added Quincey without losing Prout, then they at least would have bolstered their depth, but the one-for-one trade was confusing. As for Korpikoski, he is a solid player having a comeback year in Dallas, but he’s not all that exciting from an offensive standpoint. Is he really worth a 2013 second-round pick in Heatherington? An odd deadline for sure for Columbus, who both simultaneously overpaid and didn’t do enough.

New York Islanders:

No trades

A good tip when you’re in a tight playoff race but your team has major needs: do something. By standing pat as the Panthers and Maple Leafs (and Bruins and Senators and Canadiens) all got better, the Islanders have crippled their own playoff hunt. Currently tied with Florida for ninth in the Eastern Conference and just one point behind Toronto, the postseason is a real possibility for an Islanders team that struggled mightily earlier this season. Despite a miraculous comeback, New York still needs talented top-six forwards, depth on the blue line, and probably could have looked at a backup goalie. Instead, the team did nothing. If they though they didn’t have a chance this season, the Islanders should have at least accepted an offer on Jaroslav Halak or shopped Dennis Seidenberg. By virtue of everyone around them improving, either in the short-term or long-term, New York is one of the 2017 deadline’s biggest losers.

New York Rangers:

Acquired Brendan Smith from Detroit Red Wings for 2017 third-round pick and 2018 second-round pick
Acquired Daniel Catenacci from Buffalo Sabres for Mat Bodie
Acquired Taylor Beck from Edmonton Oilers for Justin Fontaine

Much like the Blue Jackets, the Rangers really didn’t do enough to keep up with the Capitals and Penguins. The trade for Smith was likely an overreaction to Washington adding Kevin Shattenkirk; at least the high price they paid would indicate that they were desperate. Smith is a good player, but definitely not a game-changer. The Rangers have been hurt in the past by giving away too much at the deadline, but if the Eastern Conference standings hold, New York has an easier shot at the conference title through Montreal and Ottawa/Boston than their division rival do having to battle each other. With that in mind, the Rangers should have made more moves again this season with an eye on that elusive Stanley Cup. All that said, nice move by GM Jeff Gorton to quickly add Beck upon hearing the news of Jesper Fast‘s injury status.

Philadelphia Flyers:

Acquired Valtteri Filppula, a 2017 fourth-round pick, and a conditional 2017 seventh-round pick from Tampa Bay Lightning for Mark Streit

The Filppula trade is really not that bad. It makes a confusing Expansion Draft situation even more confusing, but Filppula may be the consistent, veteran presence – on and off the ice – that the Flyers need to get their talented forwards playing to their potential. Filppula may work out really well in Philadelphia in fact. It was still a bad day for the Flyers, though. Impending free agent defensemen Michael Del Zotto and Nick Schultz were not moved, and the team likely could have gotten more from the Lightning if they had simply traded Streit to the Penguins themselves. There was also little talk of the team moving Matt Read or Scott Laughton, one of which will likely instead be selected in the expansion draft for nothing. Steve Mason will also walk in free agency. However, the worst part of deadline day for the Flyers were those extensions. The team overpaid for both Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Michal Neuvirth on two-year deals. There had to be better ways to deal with impending expansion then two give those two more money than they deserve.

Rangers, Oilers Swap AHL Veterans

By Zach Leach | at March 1, 2017 12:57 pm

In need of a winger with Jesper Fast out two to three weeks, the New York Rangers worked quickly, trading Justin Fontaine to the Edmonton Oilers for Taylor Beck. The 25-year-old Beck, who has now been traded four times in the last two years, is the right-shot scorer that the Rangers needed to make up for Fast’s absence. Beck has only played in three games in Edmonton in 2016-17, but has 50 points in 40 games with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, already topping his career-best AHL numbers. Beck played in 62 games with the Nashville Predators in 2014-15, recording 16 points, so he has shown that he can stick in the NHL. Although the Rangers likely have no long-term plans for the impending free agent, Beck gives them an option to help out with injuries up front down the stretch.

Fontaine, a 29-year-old Alberta native, played in 197 games with the Minnesota Wild over the past three seasons, but never got the call in New York. The small, high-energy forward was once a top scorer in the AHL, but his offense has fallen off and has been replaced with a more gritty game. A young Edmonton team may be able to use that veteran toughness at some point during the remainder of the season.

Jesper Fast Out 2-3 Weeks

By Zach Leach | at March 1, 2017 12:27 pm

With under two hours to go until the Trade Deadline passes, plans for the New York Rangers and GM Jeff Gorton might be changing. Head coach Alain Vigneault confirmed that right winger Jesper Fast was injured in last night’s contest against the Washington Capitals, after taking a hard hit from Alexander Ovechkin, and suffered shoulder damage. The injury is expected to keep him out of the lineup for the next two to three weeks.

Fast, while a bottom-six forward for the Rangers, is also the only right-shooting winger on the team. There is no easy solution to replace him on the right side from the AHL either. It also doesn’t help that Michael Grabner is banged up and questionable for New York’s game against the Boston Bruins tomorrow night. Gorton may need to turn his focus in these final two hours of trade-ability to finding another winger. Options at right wing include Arizona’s Radim Vrbata, whose name has been a hot topic all day, New Jersey’s P.A. Parenteau, and Winnipeg’s Drew Stafford.

If the Rangers decide against a trade, Pavel Buchnevich is likely the next man up.

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