Sharks Rumors: 2 Teams Linked to Alexander Barabanov

The San Jose Sharks are preparing to be one of the NHL's biggest sellers at the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline. This is understandable, as they are one of the league's worst teams and are in the middle of a major rebuild.

One player who has been picking up some steam in the rumor mill over the last few weeks because of this is winger Alexander Barabanov. He is a pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) who is a solid middle-six forward when playing at his best, so there should be a good amount of interest in him over these next few weeks. According to The Fourth Period, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets both have him on their radar.

Barabanov is certainly a familiar face to the Maple Leafs, as he played in his first 13 NHL games for the club during the 2020-21 season before being moved to the Sharks. With the Maple Leafs needing a bit more production in their bottom six, a reunion with Barabanov could make sense for the right price.

As for the Jets, they are another club looking to improve their third line, so bringing in Barabanov would also make sense for them. He would also be a nice fit on their power play because of his playmaking ability.

We will now need to wait and see if either of these two teams end up landing Barabanov before the trade deadline passes from here.