The NHL Department of Player Safety announced that New York Rangers forward Pavel Buchnevich has been suspended for one game. This is his first career suspension.
NY Rangers’ Pavel Buchnevich has been suspended for one game for High-sticking Washington’s Anthony Mantha. https://t.co/kriEzlo2FV
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) May 6, 2021
Pavel Buchnevich Suspended One Game
Pavel Buchnevich has been suspended for one game for a dangerous high-stick to Anthony Mantha. After a tense first period that featured six fights in the first five minutes, Buchnevich delivered a high cross-check to Mantha. As a result, “Buch” was ejected from the game after receiving both a minor penalty and game misconduct. Wednesday’s game was fueled by the leagues’ prior decision to not suspend Tom Wilson.
Buchnevich is having a productive season on Zibanejad’s wing, scoring 20 goals and 25 assists in just 53 games. In a longer season, he would’ve broken last year’s career-high 46 points in 68 games. Buchnevich has taken 42 minutes of penalties, a number largely inflated after the Capitals’ game. His possession numbers this year are 46.9 percent Corsi for with a relative Corsi of -.5 percent.
Over his 5 year NHL career spent entirely with the Rangers, Buchnevich has tallied 79 goals and 113 assists for 192 career points in 300 career games. He was drafted in the 3rd round, 75th overall of the 2013 NHL draft by the Rangers.
What This Means for the Future
The suspension comes after the Rangers were fined $250,000 for their statement denouncing Head of Player Safety George Parros for not suspending Tom Wilson. That and the firing of general manager Jeff Gorton dominated headlines this week.
Buchnevich has been shut down for the remainder of the season. He is facing the offseason as a restricted free agent for the cap-crunched Rangers. The Rangers also need to figure out how to sign other notable RFAs: Fox, Shesterkin, and Chytil with the NHL salary cap expected to remain flat.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
