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The San Jose Sharks signed forward Alexander Barabanov to a two-year contract last Monday, which carries a $2.5 million cap hit.
Barabanov is 27 years old and has been with the Sharks since last year’s trade deadline, when he was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs. This season, he scored 10 goals and 39 points in 70 games, a pace of 46 points per 82 games.
Since joining the Sharks, Barabanov has been a really nice surprise, adding some secondary scoring for the team. Given how much San Jose relies on their top three forwards in Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier for offense, especially with the departure of Evander Kane, Barbanov was the only player outside of the three who could be counted on for more than just a bit of depth scoring.
He’s never going to score a ton of goals but is a good skater and possesses good puck control and agility in the offensive zone. His advanced stats were far from great, with an expected goals for percentage of just 43 per cent at even strength (according to NaturalStatTrick.com), but he can create more offense than the majority of the Sharks’ forward group.
For the contract, a two-year deal is a pretty low-risk move, especially for a team who isn’t contending right now anyways like the Sharks. The deal also includes a 10-team no-trade list, according to CapFriendly.com.
Given that Barabanov is still only entering his late 20s, the Sharks could’ve gone longer on the term without fear of decline, but given he’s only played 92 career NHL games, it’s still hard to judge him as a player and whether he would’ve been a fit for a longer period of time.
The $2.5 million cap hit is a win for the Sharks, who despite their position, still need to be cautious with their spending as a result of their cap situation. Barabanov could take a step forward next season and produce up to 50-55 points but even if he doesn’t and ends up down around 40 points, it’s still a worthwhile deal.
For a team with limited cap flexibility, this is a fair contract for the Sharks. It was an interesting move to hang onto him at the deadline given he was on an expiring contract, but keeping him around allows him to build his value, while providing the Sharks with some secondary offense in the meantime. If the Sharks still aren’t competitive in a year from now, they could potentially get some solid assets back for what could be a player on a cap-friendly deal – or they always have the option to keep him and simply benefit from the deal themselves.
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