Pavel Buchnevich

 ( 1995 Births ) 

Following his rookie season, Buchnevich was moved throughout the lineup by coach Alain Vigneault in favor of older, more experienced players. He began the 2018–19 season playing in a fourth line role alongside Boo Nieves and Michael Grabner. During the first few games of the season, the line combined for four goals and seven points. By the end of November, Buchnevich had recorded 20 points in his first 25 games before his offensive output slowed down. After recording a career-high 32 points through 50 games, Buchnevich suffered an upper-body injury during a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on 2 February. He eventually returned to their lineup on 16 February against the Ottawa Senators. Buchnevich finished the season amongst the best Rangers forwards in regards to generating shot attempts, with 1.77 points per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play and 1.75 primary assists per game.

Prior to his second season with the Rangers, the team hired David Quinn as their new head coach. Under his new head coach, Buchnevich was again moved throughout the lineup including spending time on their fourth line with Chytil and Vinni Lettieri. In early October, Buchnevich became a healthy scratch for back-to-back games and was encouraged by Quinn to "play better" in order to return to the lineup. He subsequently began the season by recording nine points in 14 games before suffering a broken thumb during a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Upon healing, Buchnevich was again moved throughout the Rangers lineup and spent seven games as a right-wing on the fourth line. Following a 1–0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, Buchnevich was again scratched by Quinn. Buchnevich finished the season with a career-high 21 goals and 38 points in 64 games. On 26 July 2019, the Rangers avoided arbitration and re-signed Buchnevich to a two-year, $6.5 million contract extension.

During the 2019–20 season, Buchnevich set career highs in points and assists before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the start of the season, Buchnevich played on the Rangers' first line and power-play unit alongside the newly acquired Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad. Within their first two games together, they combined for 14 points. After Zibanejad was injured in late October, Buchnevich played alongside Chris Kreider and Filip Chytil. By 11 November, Buchnevich tied with Ryan Strome for the team lead in points with 11. Once Zibanejad returned from his injury on 26 November, Buchnevich re-joined his original line. Buchnevich's offensive output slowed down in December and he went nine games without tallying a point. In February 2020, Buchnevich and teammate Igor Shesterkin were involved in a car accident in Brooklyn, resulting in him being listed as day-to-day. As a result of the accident, he missed two games and about three weeks later, the NHL was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Buchnevich finished the shortened regular season five goals away from tying his career-high and tallying 30 assists. His 50.82 Corsi percentage ranked first on the team while his 51.85 expected goal for percentage ranked third. Once the NHL returned to play, Buchnevich played in three playoff games, recording no points, as the Rangers were eliminated from playoff contention by the Carolina Hurricanes.

Buchnevich returned to the Rangers for the 2020–21 season after spending the off-season in Russia. On 15 March 2021, Buchnevich was placed on the NHL's COVID protocol list but was removed two days later and returned to the Rangers' lineup. On 17 April 2021, Buchnevich recorded his first NHL career hat-trick during a 6–3 win against the New Jersey Devils. During the month of May, Buchnevich and the Rangers engaged in a rivalry with the Washington Capitals during a back-to-back series. After Tom Wilson was fined for sucker-punching Buchnevich, he was suspended one game for responding by high-sticking Anthony Mantha. On 4 May, Buchnevich and the Rangers were officially eliminated from 2021 Stanley Cup contention. Upon completing the regular season with a career high 48 points through 54 games, Buchnevich engaged in contract negotiations with general manager Chris Drury as a restricted free agent with arbitration rights.