Three trade deadline day targets to fill the right wing hole for the New York Rangers

Alexander Barabanov

The only pure rental on the list is the only one that is not a former New York Ranger. Alexander Barabanov is the player in question as the San Jose Sharks forward was held out of their game last night against the New York Islanders for trade protection purposes. When we get into the meat of the rumors with him, it's probably for a depth addition in a team that wants a little boost and not to fill a hole on the top line of a top three team in the NHL, but let's have some fun with this.

Barabanov came across to the NHL after he was signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs under the leadership of Kyle Dubas. After struggling to get into the Leafs lineup, he was sent off to the San Jose Sharks, where the Russian started to show the offensive upside he has as a playmaker. Passing the fourty point mark once, and hitting 39 in another season, he's shown he's got talent, but this has been a down year for the forward.

In 38 games, Barabnov has three goals and seven assists for ten points. It's not great, but this is also a San Jose Sharks forward. He's not exactly blessed with offensive weapons around him, and he's shown a willingness to play a 200 foot game which would get him a lot of respect in New York. Playing with two premier goal scorers like Kreider and Mika could bolster the confidence of this player too.

As a cheap option that only makes $2.5 million until the end of the year, this is a player that might make the roster better going into the playoffs. Adding him for something like a fourth-round pick seems like it could be viable. There's not much ground for Mike Grier and the Sharks to ask for much more right now, so it's a good budget option for Drury if he opts to go that way.