San Jose Sharks forward Alexander Barabanov is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury, coach David Quinn said Wednesday.
Barabanov was injured late in the third period of the Sharks’ 3-1 loss to the Florida Panthers. He was hit by a shot from Sharks winger Mike Hoffman in front of the Panthers’ net and knocked down by a Gustav Forsling cross-check to the back before he was landed on by Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Barabanov, 29, did not play the rest of the game as the Sharks fell to 0-5-1 on the season, marking the first time in team history that they’ve lost their first six games to start the year.
“It’ll be a while,” Quinn said of Barabanov’s availability to San Jose Hockey Now in Tampa Bay, where the Sharks will play the Lightning on Thursday. “I don’t have a hard date, but it’ll be a while.”
Barabanov had not scored a point yet this season but has largely been a top-six forward for the Sharks since he was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in April 2021. Prior to this season, he had 93 points in 147 games for San Jose as he averaged over 17 minutes of ice time.
The Sharks, already without injured centers Logan Couture and Mikael Granlund, have been the NHL’s second-lowest scoring team in the NHL so far this season with just eight goals in six games. Defenseman Jacob MacDonald is also injured and unavailable.
Quinn said the Sharks are not, at the moment, planning to recall anyone from the AHL to replace Barabanov, who could be placed on injured reserve. After Thursday, the Sharks finish the road trip with games in Carolina and Washington on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
