Alexander Barabanov slams Maple Leafs, accuses the organization of lying to him
Former Maple Leafs forward Alexander Barabanov revealed why his time with the Leafs was short and unsuccessful.
In April of 2020, Barabanov left the KHL and signed a one-year, entry-level deal with the Leafs, but unfortunately, his time with the blue and white lasted a mere 13 games before he was traded to the San Jose Sharks.
Now back in the KHL, after signing a two-year deal with Ak Bars Kazan, Barabanov opened up on his short time with the Leafs in an interview with Sergey Demidov of RG.org.
I played five minutes in the first game, and in the second, four minutes. After that, I called [agent] Dan [Milstein] and asked what I was doing wrong. But the team had a great scout, Jim [Roque], who communicated with me helpfully and told me that I needed to play at least 20 games to understand what kind of league this was. But then they traded me to San Jose, where I played 18 minutes a game. And I realized that you can easily play that much time."
Barabanov skated in just 13 games with the Leafs before the team felt that it wasn't a good fit and traded him to San Jose where he spent the past 3 seasons. Now back in the KHL, Barabanov doesn't see himself returning to North America at 30-years-old. In his time with the Leafs, Barabanov registered just one assist, but in 206 NHL games, he registered 32 goals and 107 points, showing that he did indeed have some offensive skills that translated to the NHL ice.
While Barabanov didn't seem overly pleased about the Leafs promising him one role, but then casting him in another, at least the team did right by the player and moved him to a location that would allow him the ice time he felt he deserved. Of course, that's of little consequence now.
Source: RG.org Alexander Barabanov discusses his NHL career
Hockey Reference Alexander Barabanov Stats
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AOUT 30 | 310 ANSWERS Alexander Barabanov slams Maple Leafs, accuses the organization of lying to him Do you think Alexander Barabanov could have succeeded as a top-6 winger in Toronto? | ||
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| No | 224 | 72.3 % |
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