Incredibly high asking price for Pavel Buchnevich on trade market!

The St. Louis Blues have been getting phone calls inquiring about forward Pavel Buchnevich ahead of the March 8 trade deadline, but some teams may stop calling after finding out what the asking price is. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong could be seeking up to two first-round picks in exchange for Buchnevich.

“Doug Armstrong never talks about this stuff, but the price on Pavel Buchnevich is said to be very high. The versatile forward has another year under contract. Two firsts, or something like it?”

Team insider Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reports that Armstrong is not actively shopping him, but is listening to offers. However, it seems quite clear that the Blues would need to be wowed by the return to seriously consider pulling the trigger.

Buchnevich has one more year remaining on his current deal with a $5.8-million cap hit, and scored a hat trick in last night’s contest against the New York Islanders to reach the 20-goal plateau for the fourth consecutive season.
While the Blues are said to just be listening to teams calling in about the Russian forward, he holds some control in the situation thanks to his 12-team no-trade list.

The Blues are also still fighting for a spot in the playoff race, currently occupying the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. This is a tight race with just two weeks to go to the trade deadline, with St. Louis standing a distant 11 points behind the Winnipeg Jets for third place in the Central Division.

It does not feel like the Blues will enter a full rebuild this offseason, though if an incredible offer comes in for Buchnevich, GM Armstrong may have to consider some sort of retooling with the hefty return they could land.

Let’s see where this one goes.

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