Alexander Barabanov is a winger we all love. We love to see his skillset and his production. We love his talent, but the Russian was almost a member of the New York Rangers at the trade deadline. He was almost back in the Eastern Conference on a team competing for the Stanley Cup. It would have allowed the team to add some more draft picks and bolster the efforts of the rebuild.
The report was San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier and New York Rangers general manager Chris Drury talked about the player for a long time. The Rangers had an outstanding interest in the Russian before moving for former Columbus Blue Jackets forward Jack Roslovic. Now, we know the Sharks kept Barabanov, so what happened? How come the winger is still here in teal and black?
Well, the Rangers were skeptical about taking Barby on at his full $2.5 million cap hit. While fair given the entire team has struggled with offensive ineptitude this year, Barabanov has shown in the past that he can play at a higher level than the team has allowed him to show this season. Whether you want to factor in the teams issues or not, it's fair that a team was unwilling to pay his entire salary with the issues everyone has suffered with offensively.
So, the Russian remains in the Sharks top six as we get to the end of the season. We'd all like to see Barabanov re-sign before he tests the free agent market this summer. He's been a good Shark on a roster that has been extremely poor. If the Sharks cannot keep his services and he decides to go somewhere else in the summer, he'll have done very well to serve this organization in the time that he spent here.