Alexander Barabanov Receiving KHL Interest

Winger Alexander Barabanov has yet to find a new NHL team nearly three weeks into free agency.  As a result, it appears as if he’s at least considering other options.  His Russian agent Yuri Nikolaev told Championat’s Pavel Panyshev that there is interest in his client’s services from several KHL teams although it’s too early to comment on the state of any talks with those franchises.

In 2021-22, Barabanov had a breakout year with San Jose.  In his first full year with the Sharks after being acquired from Toronto, he notched 10 goals and 29 assists in 70 games.  That helped earn him a two-year, $5MM deal, a pretty good contract for someone who entered that season with just eight points in 22 NHL contests.

The 30-year-old then followed up that performance with an even better one in 2022-23, one that saw him record 15 goals and 32 assists in 67 games while logging over 18 minutes of ice time per night.  That performance made Barabanov a speculative trade candidate last summer with the Sharks intending to bottom out in the standings.

Of course, a trade never materialized and like just about every forward on San Jose, Barabanov struggled mightily last season.  He missed time with two lower-body injuries, a finger issue, and a brief illness so he wound up being limited to just 46 appearances.  Offensively, he was only able to put up four goals and nine assists while averaging just under 16 minutes a night, numbers that certainly haven’t helped his case on the open market.

At this point, it seems highly unlikely that Barabanov would be able to land a contract comparable to the one that just expired.  Given the sharp drop in his point total last season, it stands to reason that NHL teams might be viewing him as more of a PTO candidate than one to receive a guaranteed contract.

With that in mind, it makes sense for him to be considering options back home as well.  Barabanov played in parts of seven KHL seasons before coming to North America with SKA St. Petersburg with his best showing coming in 2018-19 when he had 46 points in 59 games.  Barabanov would undoubtedly have a chance to play a prominent role if he returned to Russia and the promise of a guaranteed deal over there should be more appealing the longer he remains unsigned in North America.

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