Pavel Buchnevich finds himself in the Quinn Bin once again

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Everyone knows what the sin bin is, that’s hockey slang for the penalty box. Everyone knows a coach has a metaphorical dog house which has been called by hockey announcers as Chateau Bow Wow. Well fans of the Rangers have affectionally called David Quinn’s doghouse the Quinn Bin which is a clever combination of the two. And no current Ranger has been a more frequent resident than Pavel Buchnevich.

“I didn’t like his game at all”

Late in the 5-3 loss to the Dallas Stars, Pavel Buchnevich was benched and locked away in the Quinn Bin. When asked afterwards why the coach benched him he said, “I didn’t like his game at all”, matter of fact, he said that twice. Mind you, this is a night where Buchnevich opened the scoring with a sneaky shot on the PP.

The truth is that aside from burying Lias Andersson on a 4th line with limited ice, the only other player that has visited the Quinn Bin more than a couple of times this season is defenseman Brady Skjei. Hands down and dating back to last season, Quinn has a shorter fuse for Buchnevich versus any other player on the current roster.

Quinn also doesn’t mince words when he talks about Buchnevich. Last season when addressing the media to another scratch he flat out said he needs to play better. “He’s a really talented player,” Quinn explained, “He’s got some inconsistencies in his game, and, you know, we’ve got the bar high for him — as he should for himself” After last night’s benching it doesn’t appear too much has changed save for the brevity in Quinn’s statements.

Buchnevich on the market?

I recently wrote that the Rangers won’t make the mistake of trading Buchnevich at this time for a multitude of reasons and I still firmly believe that. However he will be an RFA at the conclusion of his current deal in the summer of 2021. He could also command a deal of 3-5 years in length at around $5M per and raise some questions, especially if Quinn is still the head coach.

Should Kakko break out and take his projected spot as the top RW, and Kravtsov sticks playing either 2nd or 3rd minutes on the right side, Buchnevich becomes expendable. Furthermore, if the Rangers do land Kasperi Kapanen or Jordan Kyrou at the trade deadline, my stance on Buchnevich could go full 180.

By Anthony Scultore

Anthony Scultore has been covering the New York Rangers and the NHL since 2014. His work also appears at... More about Anthony Scultore

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