As the playoffs draw toward a close, it’s time to think about the breakout performances in the NHL postseason. And while all the headlines and spotlights may be pointed at Matthew Tkachuk, who has dragged his team to the Stanley Cup Final through incredible force of will and an unparalleled flair for clutch performances, he has a counterpart on the Vegas Golden Knights who deserves nearly as much recognition. Ivan Barbashev has been everywhere: scoring significant goals, connecting on dynamic assists, and leveling his opponents’ most intimidating players. For many around the NHL, Barbashev’s breakout is the biggest shock of the postseason. After all, Tkachuk is a Hart Trophy finalist, but Barbashev was a relative unknown before this performance. But for fans of the St. Louis Blues, where the 27-year-old Muscovite spent his entire NHL career until the trade deadline, Barbashev’s quality is no surprise at all.
Barbashev’s Stellar St. Louis Career
Barbashev joined the Blues early in the second round of the 2014 NHL Draft. Playing with the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL, he scored 95 points in 57 games in his final season, adding 24 points in 16 playoff games, and another six points in seven games with Russia at the U20 World Junior Championship (a preview of his clutch performances of the future). Barbashev rose quickly among Blues prospects and established that he had an NHL future. With the Blues, he established himself as a Swiss Army Knife — capable of playing up and down the lineup and fulfilling virtually any need the team had. He could score goals, and he could kill penalties; he could drive the play, and he could get physical when it was called for. While he was never an elite skill player, he did everything well and was the answer to many questions asked by head coaches Mike Yeo and Craig Berube.
When the 2018-19 playoffs came around, Barbashev was entrenched as a critical part of the lineup. And while he might not have had quite the same impact on the scoresheet then as he has this season (he managed six points in 25 games), his flexibility and intensity served the Blues well. He played on a hybrid fourth line that made a dramatic impact throughout the postseason, and his high-energy performance became key for the Blues down the stretch. Barbashev was a key part of bringing the Blues their first-ever Stanley Cup, and he made a huge impact on the city and the fan base.
Big Supporters in Vegas
Clearly, he made an impact on the opposition as well, as Bruce Cassidy, the head coach of the Boston Bruins at the time, whom the Blues defeated in the Stanley Cup Final, was all too eager to add Barbashev to his roster as the playoffs approach this season. Speaking to NHL.com about his decision to put Barbashev in more of a skilled role this season, Cassidy said: “Whatever they did in St. Louis worked. I saw it firsthand, so the lines were appropriately built. But there’s an area [where] we thought we could get more out of him, and he has. He can make small-area plays, he sees the ice.”
Clearly, Cassidy’s decision was the right one, as Barbashev has exploded with 17 points in 21 games. But while few may have seen this breakout coming, Barbashev has one big supporter in his former captain with the Blues and current teammate with the Golden Knights, Alex Pietrangelo:
I saw him in the playoffs in 2019 and he played a big role that year. I don’t even call it the fourth line, but that line played some big minutes against other teams’ top lines and ‘Barby’ is a competitive player, always has been. This time of year, that’s what you want. For me it was a no-brainer: Bring a guy in who knows how to win and is competitive as [heck] at this time of year.
Alex Pietrangelo to NHL.com
Cassidy and Pietrangelo may have been familiar with Barbashev’s game and been supreme believers in his ability to deliver at an even higher level. But many around the NHL are just discovering the young Russian for the first time. And the timing couldn’t be better for him, as he is an unrestricted free agent after the season.
Big Contract Coming
It seems like every season, one or two players make themselves millions upon millions of dollars just by showing up in a big way during the two-month gauntlet known as the postseason. There is no question that the biggest winner of the playoff sweepstakes this year is the new Golden Knight Barbashev.
Make no mistake, Barbashev was already a valuable player for his versatility, and his Stanley Cup experience (before this season) would likely have made him an appealing free agent under any circumstances. But there’s a difference between an “appealing free agent” and the hottest ticket on the market, which is what he may have transformed himself into this summer. Now, Barbashev will be expecting $25 million over five seasons as a bare minimum to start negotiations, and he will have plenty of suitors even at that price tag.
After all, the Golden Knights were a perpetual high-level contender who look to be on the brink of finally capturing a Stanley Cup thanks in large part to adding Barbashev at the deadline. Why wouldn’t other teams in the same spot (the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Dallas Stars, and the New York Islanders, just to name a few possible contenders) see Barbashev as someone who could bring the same outcome for them?
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This summer, Barbashev will have his pick of the litter as far as where his career takes him next. One outcome that isn’t likely is a reunion with the Blues, which many fans have hoped for since his departure. He has probably priced himself out of that possibility. But he’ll have many other suitors, among them several top contenders, as he mulls his future in the NHL. For now, though, the task is simple: win one more game with Vegas and lift the Stanley Cup for the second time in his seven-year career. If that happens, NHL fans around the world will see what Blues fans have always known, that Barbashev can be one of the most valuable players in the NHL.