Maple Leafs Reportedly Expressing Interest in Bringing in a High-Scoring KHL Forward
The Maple Leafs are reportedly one of four teams interested in point-producing, 24-year-old KHL forward Maxim Shabanov.
The Leafs have built a very good relationship with KHL players over the years, giving them opportunities to fulfill their NHL dreams. Some recent examples of this are Alexander Barabanov and Ilya Mikheyev. Some of these opportunities have panned out for the Leafs, while others have fizzled out quickly, such as the Igor Ozhiganov experiment.
While the Leafs have a number of young forwards pushing for playing time with the Toronto Marlies as well as players like Easton Cowan in the pipeline, they are continuing their search to add more skillful players to their prospect pool. According to hockey reporter Alexei Shevchenko, the Leafs have shown interest in 24-year-old forward Maxim Shabanov.
The forward is in his third full KHL season with Chelyabinsk Traktor and currently has 6 goals and 14 points in 13 games. The 5'8 forward has put up 81 points in 131 the past two seasons with the club including a 25-goal campaign last season. He doesn't fit the usual player model that Brad Treliving and Craig Berube prefer, but neither did Easton Cowan, who also stands under the 6-foot mark.
Competition for the undrafted free agent's services are high, though, as the Utah Hockey Club, Nashville Predators, and New York Islanders are also reportedly interested in signing Shabanov.
Shabanov is under contract with Traktor until the end of the season so likely wouldn't make his North American debut until April, should he chose to leave the KHL. But if he does, and chooses the Leafs, he would immediately add some secondary scoring to a Marlies team that will likely need it come playoff time as I'm sure that some of their top players will be called up to join the Leafs in the post-season as 'black aces'.
| POLL | ||
3 HOURS AGO | 308 ANSWERS Maple Leafs Reportedly Expressing Interest in Bringing in a High-Scoring KHL Forward Should the Leafs attempt to add Shabanov? | ||
