Sharks’ Alexander Barabanov out for 'a while' with upper-body injury

“It’ll be a while,” Quinn told San Jose Hockey Now at Amalie Arena on Wednesday afternoon. “I don’t have a hard date, but it’ll be a while.”

Barabanov, 29, suffered the injury midway through the third period of Tuesday’s game against the Florida Panthers. He left the game after a shift that saw him get hit high by a shot from teammate Mike Hoffman, cross-checked by Gustav Forsling, and kneed in the back by Oliver-Ekman Larsson, although which specific incident caused the injury is unknown. 

Barabanov finished the game with three shots in 14:10 of ice time as the Sharks went on to lose the game 3-1.

Barabanov was off to a slow start to the season with no points through six games, as he was looking to build off the momentum of his career year in 2022-23 with 15 goals, 32 assists and 47 points in 68 games. 

What was perhaps more impressive about last season was his 21 primary assists, which was tied with Dylan Cozens for 81st in the league, and was tied for 58th in the league at a per 60 minute rate of 1.03, alongside Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Patrik Laine.

It’s unknown as to who will slot into the lineup in Barabanov’s place or onto his spot on the top line alongside Tomas Hertl and Anthony Duclair. Givani Smith was the only forward on their roster that was a healthy scratch in Tuesday’s game, so he’ll likely end up in the lineup, but probably in a fourth line role.

Barabanov was an undrafted free agent signing from the KHL by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2020, and after struggling to crack their lineup, he was traded to the Sharks at the 2021 trade deadline in exchange for Antti Suomela, and Barabanov has since spent his career with the Sharks. 

He is in the final year of a two-year contract with a $2.5M cap hit, one he signed with the Sharks in the 2022 offseason, and he will be an unrestricted free agent in the 2024 offseason.