The Vegas Golden Knights have acquired Ivan Barbashev from the St. Louis Blues for 2021 first round draft pick Zach Dean. If there is any doubt as to whether the Golden Knights are looking to take the Stanley Cup this year.. the answer could be seen crystal clear with this trade. Now that Barbashev is a Golden Knight, there are new questions that will need to be answered in the very near future.
What do the Golden Knights get with Barbashev?
For starters, the Golden Knights get a player that can play on both sides of the ice and down the middle and the Moscow-native is one of the best dept ready forwards in the league. He is known as a very physical forward and was key to the success of the St. Louis Blues run to the Stanley Cup in 2019.
A former teammate of Alex Pietrangelo, Barbashev carries a cap hit of $2.25 million and has 10 goals and 19 assists (29 points) through 59 games played this season. In the 2021-22 season, he accumulated a career high of 26 goals 34 assists (60 points). He also ranked second in the league in shooting percentage at 23.4 percent.
The big thing with Barbashev is that he instantly helps the Golden Knights with some strength on the power play. When the Blues were on the power play, Babrbashev was a key asset in their productivity. Looking deeper into the stats and attribute that to team success gives you a bigger picture as to why the Golden Knights would go after such a player.
Sure, his numbers in 2022-23 are down significantly. That being said, putting him on a team that is hungry to not only win, but win the Stanley Cup with a former teammate gives the Golden Knights some big hopes for Barbashev to regain the magic he had last season during the stretch run of the playoff chase.
The one downside to the price bringing Barbashev aboard is that he will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the current season. The question that general manager Kelly McCrimmon will have is whether the 27-year old will be offered a contract extension or get a deal done with him early on in free agency.
What did the Golden Knights give up for Barbashev?
Getting a player such as Barbashev was going to be the cost of a quality draft pick or prospect and as it turns out, that became 2021 first round pick Zach Dean going to the Blues organization. The Blues see Dean as a younger up and coming prospect that compares to that of Barbashev. Dean projects to be a mid six player similar to what Barbashev already is.
Dean, who is playing for the Gatineau Olympiques in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, has 24 goals and 49 assists in 38 games this season. He also represented Team Canada in the Under 20 World Championships with a goal and two assists.
He is the fifth number one pick of the last six first round picks that the Golden Knights have traded away. If there is anything that forces the sting to apply on the Vegas front. Overall, a fairly even trade on behalf of both teams.
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