March 10, 2024 | 10:24am ET
TheFourthPeriod.com

SHARKS UNABLE TO TRADE BARABANOV ON DEADLINE DAY

Alexander Barabanov, forward

The San Jose Sharks were close to moving forward Alexander Barabanov prior to Friday’s trade deadline, but the club was unable to come to the finish line on a trade.

Barabanov, who was held out of Thursday’s game for trade related reasons, was expecting to be dealt after he was told a move was on the horizon.

The Colorado Avalanche, New York Rangers and Edmonton Oilers were among the teams believed to be interested in Barabanov, with a move to the Rangers reportedly close.

Barabanov, who ranked 16th on the TFP Trade Watch List, has a $2.5 million salary cap hit and the Sharks were unable to retain any piece of his deal after they retained a chunk of Tomas Hertl’s contract when they traded him to the Vegas Golden Knights.

The 29-year-old is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. As TFP’s David Pagnotta reported earlier in the week, Barabanov and the Sharks were unable to come to terms on a long-term extension prior to the deadline and he is poised to test the free agent waters in July.

Sharks GM Mike Grier moved Anthony Duclair to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday and on Friday, he shipped defenceman Nikita Okhotiuk to the Calgary Flames, blueliner Radim Simek to the Detroit Red Wings, goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen to the New Jersey Devils and Hertl to the Golden Knights.

Grier was also engaged in trade discussions with clubs for some of his other players who weren’t moved, like defenceman Mario Ferraro and forward Luke Kunin.