I doubt NYI wants to turn Wahlstrom into a conditional 1st and Labanc, even if it means unloading Bailey. They view themselves as in a cup window.

Kinda thought this was an opposing teams ideas because these trades are all bad for San Jose.

I like Barabanov but not for that price. I would give up the 40th pick at most for him, not a first round pick from 3 years ago who still looks like he’s on track to make the NHL.

RD Jokiharju has a lower cap hit and slightly better stats than LD Ferraro, but is RFA in 2024 while Ferraro is UFA in 2026. The $ value seems negligible assuming a raise on Joki's next contract so that's fair, but LD/RD in Buf's top-4 is irrelevant when Dahlin and Power can play either side on separate pairings.

Considering the Dman swap is a wash, this is basically UPL for an early 3rd and I don't think the Sabres go for that.

They might view themselves that way but in no way do they have a chance against Carolina, NYR, TOR or NJ, they need to recalibrate their lineup and adding a couple 40-50 point forwards and a potential 1st is a big step. Wahlstrom hasn’t exactly lit the lamp there and might need a change of scenery.

Maybe McMichael then. Barabanov was on pace for 50+ points and has a very low cap hit for top six numbers, he isn’t going to be had for cheap.

Wahlstrom scores at a higher rate than both Labanc and zetterlund

MacDonald and Simek can be placed on waivers. Don't need to give up a 4th to recoup the $1M in cap hit that a buried Simek would have.

Thought the same thing

He's a nice player with some offensive skill and a nice cap hit, but he's also an undersized winger who doesn't PK, his are numbers inflated by playing in a 1st line/1st unit PP role that he wouldn't have on most other teams, and he's one year from free agency. When the Caps traded Marcus Johansson in the summer of 2017 he was coming off a 24-34-58 season and had two years left at 4.6M (and was two years younger than Barabanov is now), but all the Caps got was a 2nd and 3rd a year in the future because teams knew he was a small winger who didn't PK and had his numbers inflated by playing alongside better players. I don't mean to come off as rude, but you should temper your expectations for what Barabanov would return in a trade. Teams never value players like him as much as fans expect.

This is a really good comparison. I think the 40th pick is more than fair for Barabanov, but we’ll see if he moves and what for.

Fair enough. If the offers aren't good enough S.J will just keep him and reap the benefits of another excellent contract. He's great in teal.

So why sell a player producing for scraps because someone else did it? And 4.6 mil for similar production in flat cap, Barabanov at 1/2 the cap hit would surely increase his value!
Another reference, Hagel is only 1” taller and the same weight But same cap hit and got 2 prospects and 2 1sts! But he was signed for more years so let’s find a sweet spot between those two or he won’t be dealt.

well that's not really a thing in SJ for Barb lol

All the top players in the league reap the benefits of playing with other top players. This is a nonsensical argument that people make. Barb plays with Hertl and Couture, Robertson plays with Hintz, Crosby with Guentzel, Kempe with kopitar. It's a stupid and meaningless argument.

Yes it's really bad to trade things we don't need for things we do need. How dare I.

Ok? You're the one who made a proposal where you traded him away. I just said you're asking too much.



Again, not sure why people are taking that post as me saying the Sharks should trade him for scraps, I'm just saying if the Sharks do trade him don't expect a king's ransom.

Barabanov has half the cap hit as Johansson but also half the contract length remaining. Hagel was 23 when he was traded and under contract at a 1.5M cap hit for 2.5 more seasons, after which he'll still be an RFA. He also PKs and gets under the other team's skin. Not really comparable to Barabanov.



Is it really controversial to say Couture, Hertl, and Karlsson are good players, and playing on a line with one and on a PP unit with all three would boost a player's point totals? If you want to trade him to a team where he's gonna be getting 2nd or 3rd line minutes and 2nd unit PP time, they're not gonna value him like they can plug him into their lineup and expect the same production he's had in San Jose.



Jesus, let's cool it on comparing Barabanov to Hintz, Guentzel, and Kempe. Those guys all scored more goals this season than Barabanov has in his career. When Barabanov pots 35+ in a season or drives his own line without an established stud on it, then he'll get the respect of those guys.

You can see how important Barabanov is to tge sharks from the plethora of people demanding more for him!
While I wouldn’t utilize him to run a line… the last two years the Players he played with did have very good years! (Hertl last year and without him this year regressed a lot, and couture This year had his best year in 3 years playing with him) his game beyond points is why the sharks covet him! He works hard and his play benefits his line mates even when it doesn’t correlate to his own point totals.