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St. Louis Blues: Ivan Barbashev Contract Will Be Worth Every Penny

By Jason Martin

ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - MAY 21: Ivan Barbashev #49 of the St. Louis Blues celebrates after scoring an empty net goal on the San Jose Sharks during the third period in Game Six of the Western Conference Finals during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Enterprise Center on May 21, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - MAY 21: Ivan Barbashev #49 of the St. Louis Blues celebrates after scoring an empty net goal on the San Jose Sharks during the third period in Game Six of the Western Conference Finals during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Enterprise Center on May 21, 2019 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /
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Now that Pat Maroon has moved on to Tampa, the St. Louis Blues can turn their attention to re-signing restricted free agent forward Ivan Barbashev.

The St. Louis Blues have almost every piece of their roster in place for the upcoming 2019-20 season, and the only holdout of the offseason is Ivan Barbahsev.

Once the Blues end up giving him a contract, assuming they do, he will have earned every bit of his new deal. Barbashev has proven that he can do whatever is asked of him and as a result, has quite the resume under his belt.

The Blues currently sit $1.9 million under the salary cap and have very little wiggle room for a new deal with Barbashev. However, a contract needs to get done because he is a very valuable player to the team.

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Barbashev was drafted in the second round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft by the Blues and has spent his entire three-year career with the organization. His role over that time has changed dramatically, though it wasn’t without a little turmoil.

His playing time before the 2019 season had been considerably inconsistent. He played 30 games in his rookie season during the 2016-17 campaign, then netted 53 games under his belt in the following season.

Everything changed for the 23-year-old Russia native in 2019, and it’s not only because he won the Stanley Cup. Barbashev played in 80 regular-season games for St. Louis last season, adding 25 more in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

In the regular-season slate, Barbashev set career highs in every offensive category. He scored 14 goals and registered 12 assists on his way to a 26 point season.

His playoff run was just as impressive. His numbers did not pop off of the page, only three goals and three assists. However, Barbashev, along with fourth line teammates Oskar Sundqvist and Alex Steen, picked up where they left off to end the regular season.

Barbashev was entrusted with a variety of roles throughout the year, and although none of the extra responsibility was playing in the Blues’ top-6, he was a regular on the penalty kill.

The Barbashev-Sunqdvist tandem was usually the first forwards on the ice when St. Louis was playing a man down and the two Europeans excelled in these situations.

Offensively, Barbashev’s 14 goal season could be a sign of things to come. The young forward is still only 23 years old and is just hitting his stride as an NHLer. It does not seem out of the question that Barbashev can one day reach the 20 goal plateau.

Next. Letting Maroon Walk Will Benefit Blues Long-Term. dark

If Doug Armstrong can maneuver his way to a reasonable deal with Barbashev in the range of $1.5-2 million, he will be worth everything the Blues give him because Barbashev is just getting started.

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