A former Leaf could be on the trade market
On Saturday's Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, Elliotte Friedman speculated that a former Leaf could be on the move before Monday's trade deadline. San Jose Sharks forward, Alexander Barabanov, who the Leafs traded last season, has revived his NHL career since arriving in California.
Barabanov signed with the Leafs after being a mainstay with KHL's SKA St. Petersburg but failed to stick around after scoring just 1 point in 13 games. When he arrived in San Jose, he exceeded all expectations becoming a productive top-6 forward. Last year, he had 7 points in 9 games with the Sharks and this season, Barabanov has 31 points in 53 games.
Barabanov has been an under the radar trade target ahead of the deadline. He's a pending unrestricted free agent who makes just $1 million. If a team looking for a top-6 winger misses out on one of the big fish, Barabanov could be a target and he won't have as large of a price tag as some of the other forwards available.
For any contending teams who are holding onto some cap space to go bargain bin deadline shopping on Monday, Barabanov could be a nice add to the middle six.
| POLL | ||
20 MARS | 138 ANSWERS A former Leaf could be on the trade market Will the Sharks trade Barabanov at the deadline? | ||
| Yes, they won't lose him for nothing | 57 | 41.3 % |
| No, he'll re-sign | 39 | 28.3 % |
| No, he'll walk as a UFA | 42 | 30.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
