THN.com/podcast. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk2MTU3MzQzNTc3MTU0NzA1/usatsi_19607841.jpg] The trades just keep on coming. The St. Louis Blues continued their selling spree on Sunday morning, trading forward Ivan Barbashev to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for prospect Zach Dean. A pending UFA, Barbashev was a prime candidate to join a contender in need of offensive depth heading into the playoffs with the deadline approaching. The 27-year-old has been a productive middle-six winger this season despite his team's struggles around him, with Barbashev having racked up 10 goals and 19 assists for 29 points through 59 games thus far, all while logging roughly 16-and-a-half minutes in ice time per game. With the Golden Knights in the thick of a heated fight to maintain their playoff position, Barbashev's arrival could not come at a better time – especially with top-line winger Mark Stone potentially out for the remainder of the season. Barbashev broke out in a big way in 2021-22, finishing with a career-high stat line across the board that featured 26 goals and 34 assists for 60 points in 81 games. That bump in production was certainly influenced by a spike in puck luck that saw Barbashev's shooting percentage balloon to an unsustainable 23.4 percent. But even with that number regressing back down to 11 percent this season, Barbashev has still remained a valuable contributor in a number of different roles and should help Vegas stay afloat in an increasingly tight Pacific Division. The Blues, on the other hand, acquire a decent prospect in Zach Dean, who was selected with the 30th pick in the 2021 draft by the Golden Knights and brings with him a first-round pedigree and a track record of point-per-game production over his four seasons in the QMJHL. Stay tuned. It doesn't appear as if the trade market is set to cool down any time soon.
