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Leafs sign KHL free agent Alexander Barabanov (1-yr ELC)

herman

herman

Well-known member
https://twitter.com/mapleleafs/status/1247508823566438400

https://www.tmlfans.ca/community/index.php?topic=5631.0
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJUX2Vy0jbE

Some game footage #94 I think

Reminds me of Seth Griffith with better skating and defensive awareness
 
https://lfpress.com/sports/hockey/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/maple-leafs-sign-alexander-barabanov-to-one-year-deal/wcm/c2305ccb-ab4d-42fd-856d-3815320945c5
 
https://mapleleafshotstove.com/2020/04/07/done-deal-toronto-maple-leafs-win-sweepstakes-for-alexander-barabanov/

Agent Dan Milstein, who commended the Leafs? success with Russian players on the radio the other day and has now agreed to terms with Toronto on three notable KHL free agent clients (Nikita Zaitsev, Ilya Mikheyev, and Alexander Barabanov) in the past four years, mentioned that Mike Babcock paid a visit to Barabanov over two years ago when the Leafs began their pursuit of Barabanov. Senior Director of Player Evaluation, Jim Paliafito, deserves the lion?s share of the credit for having been in regular contact with the player and agent throughout the entire process, while GM Kyle Dubas has made multiple trips to Russia to sell the player on the Leafs? program. During the quarantine, FaceTime calls have taken place between Dubas, head coach Sheldon Keefe, Brendan Shanahan, and Barabanov.

As Milstein noted back when the Leafs won the Ilya Mikheyev sweepstakes, ?My experience is that other clubs don?t do this, don?t get this involved. They watch. They don?t get to know the person.?
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https://theleafsnation.com/2020/04/01/the-case-for-alexander-barabanov/
Leafs Fit
While his style of play would fit well with John Tavares, getting in deep with possession and looking for your center who can shoot, Barabanov is likely more of a 3rd line player. He has the ability to play a strong two way game but he doesn?t have the dynamic offensive sense that Marner or Nylander have. The majority of his focus is on the possession game, keeping the puck away from the other team, then taking shots when the opportunity is there.
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Like Mikheyev (and a better than Malgin/Petan option), 3rd line scoring skill that can flex up to top-6 for short stints. I really like his ability to hold the puck and skate out into/out of pressure to open up space for his linemates.

While it would be easy to compare their offensive production, Barabanov and Mikheyev play different ways to achieve the same results. Both are very fast, but Mikheyev?s 5″ height advantage makes him more rangy. Barabanov punches the puck deep into the zone and skates below the goal line to find a pass, while Mikheyev is more likely to stop up and look cross ice on the rush.

They both play a good 200 foot game and pick up a trailer on the backcheck, but Mikheyev uses his skating to get to an area where his long stick can take away the pass, and Barabanov commits to one player to win the numbers battle on defence.
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Seth who?  Great signing in any case, well done Leaf Management...Did anyone tell this kid that Babcock is not the coach anymore? 
 
https://twitter.com/tsn1050radio/status/1247582407139753985

Milstein: all offers from about 20 teams were equal but it was love at first sight with the Leafs management team
 
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