Toronto Maple Leafs sign Russian forward Alexander Barabanov to ELC

On Tuesday, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced the signing of KHL forward Alexander Barabanov to a one-year entry level contract.

On Tuesday morning, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced that the organization had signed Russian forward Alexander Barabanov to a one-year entry level contract for the 2020-21 NHL season.

The 25-year-old right winger had been on the radar of general manager Kyle Dubas for quite some time after ushering forth head-turning play for SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL. Throughout his most recent campaign, Barabanov notched 11 goals and 20 points in 43 regular season matchups, along with one goal and two assists in a four-game playoff stretch.

Barabanov is precisely the type of player that Toronto has gone to great lengths to secure of late. He can be a fierce competitor, known for drawing upon a high degree of skill so as to calm any doubts about his size.

Dubas recently outlined his case for targeting Barabanov as an addition to the club’s roster. Per Sportsnet’s Luke Fox, the Maple Leafs GM remarked:

"He’s a very strong winger. Tremendous play-making ability, skill level in tight. But one of the other things that we like most about him is his ability to make plays under pressure and his ability to win pucks, protect pucks when people come after him, and [he] uses his strength to be able to do that….So, he’s a play-making winger that also has the ability to finish at the net."

To suggest that Dubas is alone in assuming this line of thought would be erroneous. Per James Mirtle of The Athletic, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe has also sung the Russian winger’s praises.

Barabanov played in 262 games in the KHL, during which he tallied an impressive 62 goals and 75 assists for 137 points. He also played for Russia on three separate occasions at the World Championships and represented his country at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang .

As such, look for Toronto to make the most of its new acquisition in the not so distant future.

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