New York Rangers forward Pavel Buchnevich will be sidelined for the next four-to-six weeks after suffering a broken thumb against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, the team announced Monday.

The injury comes with Buchnevich in the midst of his best hockey of the season. The 23-year-old was instrumental as the Rangers went 5-0-1 in their last six games, registering three goals and six points, including a goal and a helper in Saturday's 5-4 shootout victory.

Buchnevich sits tied for fourth on the team with nine points, and his 26.3 shooting percentage leads the Rangers.

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The Edmonton Oilers surprised some Saturday when they sent former first-round picks Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto to the AHL after the pair combined for just two goals and one assist to open the season.

Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli discussed the decision on Sunday.

"I think, broadly speaking, I'd like them to get more touches," Chiarelli told Derek Van Diest of the Edmonton Sun. "With Jesse, it's about getting his confidence back. I thought he had a strong camp and it didn't translate to the start of the season. You could see some of the frustration in his game, but having said that, there was some maturity in his game too, so we just have to build it back up a little bit. It's easier to do that down there with more minutes and a little more latitude and margin for error.

"With Yamo, I thought he played pretty well as a complementary player. He was responsible, he supported things without the puck, he was good on the PK. We took him out of the game, he sat a little bit and it was confidence. For him, it's about finishing, going down there and finishing his opportunities. He did have a lot of opportunities when he was up here and I didn't want his confidence to struggle either."

Puljujarvi, the 2016 fourth overall pick, has totaled 32 points in 49 career AHL games, compared to just 29 points in 104 NHL contests.

"He was disappointed," Chiarelli said about Puljujarvi's multiple trips between the big club and the Bakersfield Condors. "We've done it each year with him, he was disappointed."

Yamamoto, the No. 22 pick in 2017, returned to the WHL's Spokane Chiefs last year after a nine-game stint with the Oilers, so this will be his first taste of the AHL.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have asked teams to indicate what they would offer in exchange for William Nylander, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

"Word is they have asked teams to inform them who teams or interested parties would not be willing to move, and also to begin preparing formal offers for the unsigned Toronto winger," Friedman said during Hockey Night in Canada's Headlines segment on Saturday night.

Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas declined to comment, Friedman added.

Nylander is a restricted free agent who's entrenched in a contract stalemate with the Maple Leafs. If the two sides can't agree on a deal by Dec. 1, Nylander will be forced to sit out the remainder of the season.

Toronto's Stanley Cup window is wide open, so going a full year without Nylander - or failing to receive assets in return for a dynamic winger - is certainly not ideal.

Both Nylander's camp and Dubas have said they'd prefer a long-term contract instead of a short-term bridge deal.

Dubas has previously stated he doesn't want to trade Nylander, but it appears that thought process might be changing because of the fast-approaching deadline.

Nylander, Toronto's eighth overall pick in 2014, is coming off back-to-back 61-point seasons with the Maple Leafs.

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Who's telling the truth?

Montreal Canadiens owner Geoff Molson and general manager Marc Bergevin both stated two months ago that Max Pacioretty requested a trade out of La Belle Province.

However, in an interview with Sportsnet's Christine Simpson that aired prior to Pacioretty's return to Montreal on Saturday, the Canadiens' former captain refuted Molson's statement.

"I don’t agree with that," Pacioretty said. "Heated conversations like that could get taken in different ways. I don’t believe that that’s what I said and I’ll just leave it at that."

The Pacioretty trade had long been rumored before he was dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sept. 9 in exchange for forward Tomas Tatar, prospect Nick Suzuki, and a second-round pick. Pacioretty said he was well aware the trade was being discussed.

"I knew there was a very likely chance I was going to get traded," Pacioretty said of his awkward interactions with Bergevin and Molson at his charity golf tournament just before the trade. "You try to not let it affect you. I’m a guy though, that’s very incapable of hiding things. (I’m a) pretty honest person where if something is bothering me, most people around me know, and maybe that led to that awkwardness."

Pacioretty's tenure in Sin City is off to a slow start, as he had recorded just two goals and zero assists in 12 games entering Saturday night.

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The Edmonton Oilers have assigned forwards Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto to the AHL, the team announced on Saturday.

Puljujarvi, selected fourth overall in 2016, and Yamamoto, chosen with the 22nd pick the following year, have both struggled mightily this season. They've combined for just two goals and one assist through Edmonton's first 16 games.

Yamamoto was even used briefly on the club's top line alongside Connor McDavid, but he still failed to produce. Meanwhile, Puljujarvi has been in and out of the lineup and often a healthy scratch.

It's still far too early to write off either of these 20 year olds, but it's safe to say their NHL careers haven't started the way the Oilers had hoped.

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