Ellen Schmidt/AP
St. Louis Blues center Ivan Barbashev (49) skates against Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore (27) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022, in Las Vegas.
Published Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023 | 8:34 a.m.
Updated Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023 | 7:21 p.m.
One of the best available depth forwards on the trade market is heading to the Golden Knights.
Vegas is acquiring Ivan Barbashev from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for 2021 first-round pick Zach Dean. TSN was first to report Barbashev was coming to Vegas, and a source confirmed to the Sun that Dean would be the piece going back to St. Louis.
Barbashev, an unrestricted free agent this summer at a cap hit of $2.25 million, has 29 points in 59 games this season. The 27-year-old forward had a career-high 60 points last season. He was a second-round pick by the Blues in 2014.
Now, he comes to Vegas and reunites with former St. Louis captain Alex Pietrangelo for Vegas' stretch run. The Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019.
"This trade is a by-product of the work done by our pro scouting staff, our hockey operations department and our analytics department," said general manager Kelly McCrimmon, adding that the Golden Knights have scouted Barbashev on 45 different occasions from this season alone. "We're really confident that we know what we're getting."
Barbashev is a versatile forward who can play all three positions. His shooting has taken a drastic dip since last season, but is a good driver on offense and can play on any line, potentially the top line on the right side in place of captain Mark Stone, who is on long-term injured reserve after undergoing back surgery.
In a prospect cupboard that was seemingly bare, Dean is putting together his best season with Gatineau of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with 49 points in 38 games. Dean had been a prospect the Blues coveted.
The trade deadline is Friday at noon and the Golden Knights seemingly have their one upgrade at forward.
As far as making a play for Timo Meier, that's no longer in play as the San Jose Sharks traded the forward to the New Jersey Devils on Sunday night. The other big trade piece available, Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane, appears headed to the New York Rangers at some point this week.
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
