Vegas Golden Knights New National Hockey Champion leagues. The Knights defeated the Florida Panthers in five games in the Finals to win their first Stanley Cup in the franchise's sixth year in the NHL. Russian forward Ivan Barbashev became a triumphant member of the club from the state of Nevada.
Now Barbie is cooler than OviFor the 27-year-old striker, this victory is already the second in eight years of his career in the NHL. Now Barbashev (or Barbie, as fans in North America love to call him) is on the elite list of Russians who have won the Stanley Cup more than once.
Previously, Igor Larionov, Sergei Fedorov, Sergei Brylin, Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Zubov, Sergei Nemchinov, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Oleg Tverdovsky, Pavel Datsyuk, Vyacheslav Voinov, Andrei Vasilevsky, Nikita Kucherov, Mikhail Sergachev, Vyacheslav Fetisov and Vladimir at Bure. Moreover, Larionov, Fedorov, Brylin and Malkin won the Stanley Cup three times, and Vladimir Bure — the father of the famous hockey player Pavel Bure — is a two-time winner of the trophy as a coach. As a coach, Vyacheslav Fetisov also became a winner: after two championships in his playing career, another triumph followed as an assistant head coach for the New Jersey Devils. Sergey Gonchar also has two victories behind him, who won one Stanley Cup as a player and another one as a coach.
Barbashev is a graduate of Dynamo Moscow, although he never played for his native club in the KHL. But now Ivan surpasses another Russian striker in the number of titles, whose life path is connected with the “white-and-blue”, Alexander Ovechkin. The first Stanley Cup in 13 years of his career in the NHL remains the only one for the permanent leader of the Washington Capitals.
“My wife screamed when she learned about my departure to Vegas. Since Barbashev’s debut in the NHL in the 2016/17 season, his hockey career has been associated only with the St. Louis Blues. Until February of this year, Ivan was an integral part of the “musicians”. Yes, his name rarely flashed in the media, and the Russian did not try on the role of the Blues star, but for this, St. Louis had enough other players, while Barbashev constantly worked and brought a different benefit to the team, more necessary for success. on the performances of the Blues in the 2018/19 season: the club escaped a failure in the regular season, climbed into the playoffs and eventually created a sensation in the form of a victory in the Stanley Cup Barbashev scored 6 points (3 + 3) in that championship draw ) in 25 games, including scoring a goal in one of the finals against the Boston Bruins.
The significance of the Russians was also noted by Alex Pietrangelo, the then leader of the “St. Louis” and now the defender of the “Golden Knights”. Ivan's paths with the powerful Canadian once again intertwined in the pursuit of the Stanley Cup:
«»In that playoffs, he played a very important, big role. His line did a lot of work against the best teams in the league, and Barbie has always been a competitive player. In this «Span of the season is what the club needs. It wasn't a question for us, Vegas needed to bring in a damn competitive guy who knows how to win the playoffs, and they succeeded.»
However, using the example of Ovechkin, Ivan failed to connect his entire NHL career with one club. One way or another, it was influenced by circumstances. “St. Louis” this season could be one of the contenders for a successful season, but the last dance of the “Blues” failed, and the club chose the path of restructuring. “Musicians” said goodbye to many leaders, whose contracts expired at the end of the season. Barbashev did not escape the exchange either. The Russian was sent to Vegas in exchange for 20-year-old Canadian striker Zach Dean. And Ivan himself, it seems, was only happy about this — the forward will enter the market of unrestricted free agents this summer, and the Blues did not have the resources to re-sign him.
“On the day of the trade, I was at home, I saw the news about the deal on the Internet. A few seconds after that, my wife screamed. She was glad about it, and I felt relieved. St. Louis had a lot of difficulties during the whole season, and it was an amazing experience for me to come to Vegas, to a really great club, it's important for me to realize that I can contribute to such a club, it's a challenge for me.»
Ivan BarbashevVegas Golden Knights forward
Now Barbashev will be flooded with money? «Golden Knights» in the deadline of the exchanges acted in the best traditions of Las Vegas and, like luck in a casino, hit a big jackpot by taking Barbashev. An experienced, powerful, technical and hardy player whose small contract does not hit the payroll — what other gift could the Knights expect? But it seems that the Vegas bosses did not even imagine then how successful the deal with the Blues would be. Barbashev perfectly adapted to the requirements of Bruce Cassidy and fit into his system, becoming the player who is able to be useful in any combination.
Ivan showed himself productively in the fourth link, and in the course of the playoffs he even climbed into the top three of the attack to Jack Eichel and Jonathon Marchesseau. Barbashev was a great addition for the same Eichel: while the second number of the historic 2015 NHL draft performs his duties in the neutral zone, Barbie successfully opens in another point of the floor and helps the attack to develop.
“In St. Louis, he was very He still does what he was great at the Blues in Vegas, but we gave him an even bigger role. We knew we could get even more out of him and Ivan proved it. He sees the court, great feels on small patches of ice,” said the head coach of “Vegas”.
In this playoff, Barbashev set a new personal best performance in the Stanley Cup, gaining 18 points (7+11) in 22 games. Even before reaching the Stanley Cup final, he climbed into first place in the scorer standings among Russians, and he did not give this leadership to anyone. In addition to the productive game and excellent work with the puck, Ivan also succeeded in other components. This is especially true of the power struggle.
Barbashev will not give up position to anyone without a fight, in terms of the number of hits (64), the Russian is in the top 6 in this playoff draw, and his duel with Radko Gudas from the Florida Panthers became the decoration of the finale.
“Honestly, it’s like a fairy tale. I played almost my entire career for one team, I only spent three months in Vegas after the trade. It all felt a little strange at first. At the same time, it becomes really special — to fight for Stanley Cup with guys I met just three months ago….»
Ivan Barbashev
And now the big question is — will Ivan Barbashev meet these guys on the same team in the coming months. The Russian is entering the free agent market, and after such a strong playoff and a contract with a $2.25 million cap-hit, he will be eligible for a serious promotion. At least twice. However, Vegas currently has just under $3.5 million in salary caps and a whole host of other players to sign. Fitting Barbashev's new contract under such conditions is an almost impossible task. Probably another club will please the Russian with money.