NHL Scout, Labanc’s director of trade value

What is Kevin Labanc’s trade worth?

Labanc has certainly raised his stock since season-ending shoulder surgery last year that limited him to 21 games.

The 27-year-old winger has 25 points in 45 games this season. From Nov. 5 to Jan. 10, a 29-game stretch, the winger was especially prolific with nine goals and 14 assists, mostly skating with San Jose Sharks top line duo Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl.

So the playmaker, who enjoyed a career-high 56 points in 2018-19 and averaged 0.55 points per game from 2017-21, is scoring again.

However, I don’t think his trade value is particularly high, for two reasons.

First, he’s a good but not great offensive lineman who doesn’t produce enough to make up for his inconsistencies in the contest and defense. Second, his contract is exorbitant: it expires after next year, but his $4.725 million AAV is too rich for this productivity.

But the topic of Labancs’ trade value has come up again with his recent healthy scratches, so I thought it was worth getting an up-to-date league-wide perspective. Head coach David Quinn has left the winger on the bench in six of the last eight games.

Is burying Quinn worth Labancs?

Not really, according to two sources, an NHL scout and executive, both from outside the San Jose Sharks organization.

The Sharks need to save money or trade hockey for the team to get a similar cap hit to move him, the scout estimated.

Labanci is considered a one-dimensional winger and inconsistent even at that strength, the offensive scout noted. Other areas of his game are considered lacking.

Playing for him or not won’t change many minds.

I know Labanc is a bit of an analytics lover, but as far as I know the league’s decision makers don’t pass final judgment on players through those lenses.

Not sure why Kevin Labanc has been scratched in San Jose (thanks to D. Quinn, perhaps?), but how likely is Goodrow to have SJS on his 15-team no-trade list?

$4.725 hit next season, never going to happen (although that would be cool for this year). pic.twitter.com/IyIV1fnZ2j

— Rob Luker (@RLuker12) February 8, 2023

There really isn’t a market unless the Sharks keep, the manager admitted. Or there should just be some sort of compensation, like San Jose having to take the crap contract back.

So, same opinion, two different sources.

Anyway, just my guess, the San Jose Sharks are not going to keep Labancs contract to get rid of him. At least not now.

A team is only allowed to hold three salary caps at a time, and the Sharks already use one of those spots in Brent Burns through 2025-26. It would make sense for San Jose to keep slots available in the coming years for longer, richer contracts they might want to keep, like Erik Karlsson, Marc-Edouard Vlasic or Logan Coutures.

Perhaps the Sharks will consider moving on with Labanc this offseason when they have more clarity on things like a potential Karlsson trade.

They can also send assets to a third middle man team to keep in Labanc, but I don’t see much sense for a rebuilding/restoring organization to do that.

I just don’t think it makes sense for them to continue Labanci this year.

At least this season, another proposal to trade Labanc’s unpleasant contract for another seems more likely.

Of course, this is also a challenge in terms of finding the right contract and business partner.

But Labanc to the Vancouver Canucks for Anthony Beauvillier ($4.15M AAV through 2023-24) or the Detroit Red Wings for Jakub Vrana ($5.25M AAV through 2023-24)?

On paper, these deals make sense.

Either way, scratch Labanci or not, the league has seen a lot of him. This seems to be his trade value, Like it or not.