San Jose Sharks officially parting way with three key forwards

The San Jose Sharks dwelled at the bottom of the NHL standings with a measly 47 points, five behind the second-to-last Chicago Blackhawks. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they are letting three veteran forwards — Mike Hoffman, Kevin Labanc, and Alexander Barabanov — walk to free agency this summer.

Hoffman, 34, was fourth on team in scoring albeit with just 23 points. His production has fallen off significantly since joining the Montreal Canadiens in 2021.

Labanc, 28, has played his entire NHL career with San Jose dating back to 2016. He recorded a career-high 56 points in 2018-19, but played in just 46 games this past season, scoring twice and adding seven assists.

Barabanov, 29, scored 47 points in 68 games last season — a 57-point pace. However, he recorded just four goals and 13 points in 46 games this season and saw his ice time drop significantly.


All three veteran forwards will test free agency and hope to land NHL deals elsewhere after poor production on an extremely weak Sharks team.