Max Shabanov Open To A Trade

Last year, winger Max Shabanov was a highly sought-after free agent from the KHL after putting up 67 points in 65 games with Traktor Chelyabinsk.  The Islanders were the winners of those sweepstakes with the expectation that he’d be able to step in and contribute right away.

However, things haven’t gone quite as planned so far.  The 25-year-old has just four goals and 12 assists in 40 games this season while being a frequent healthy scratch as of late.  He’s averaging just shy of 14 minutes per game on the campaign but given that he’s on the outside looking in at a lineup spot, it appears he’s open to a potential change of scenery.  Stefan Rosner of The Elmonters reports that Shabanov is open to a trade in the hopes of receiving a larger opportunity on another team.

Shabanov is certainly affordable for most teams as his entry-level deal only carries a base salary of $975K.  While he has $3.5MM of potential performance bonuses in his contract, $2.5MM of those are ‘B’ bonuses which he clearly isn’t going to reach while he hasn’t met the criteria to unlock any of his four ‘A’ bonuses either.  Should he be dealt and reach any of those, the acquiring team would be responsible for the payment and salary cap charge.

Because Shabanov was capped to a one-year contract in the entry-level system, he’s slated to become a restricted free agent with salary arbitration rights this summer.  His performance so far isn’t setting him up for a big payday but a change of scenery with a bigger role down the stretch could boost his earning potential.

New York enters today with a little over $6MM in LTIR space, per PuckPedia, so GM Mathieu Darche will have some options in a potential Shabanov trade.  He can take on a bigger contract if he finds a player that’s a better fit for their lineup instead of being capped at trying to match money as some buyers are stuck trying to do at the moment.  Given how many teams were interested in Shabanov last summer, it wouldn’t be shocking to see at least a few of them kick the tires on trying to get the winger into their system.