The acquisition of Anthony Duclair immediately after the previous NHL season from the Florida Panthers was a huge step in the right direction for the San Jose Sharks. But, time is ticking for him and Alexander Barabanov as they are in the last legs of their contracts with Mike Grier before heading into free agency. The general manager outlined their intentions of trying to keep both players for the foreseeable future, via Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group.

“There's definitely some merit to thinking about extending those guys and having them around here,” Mike Grier said about re-signing both Anthony Duclair and Alexander Barabanov before the end of the next NHL season.

Barabanov has been making a lot of strides with the Sharks. Grier even acknowledged that the player had come to his own during training camps. He apparently got stronger and quicker compared to his performance last season. These are huge improvements. This is given that his outputs were already serviceable. He netted 47 points in the span of 68 games.

Duclair, on the other hand, can prove his worth to the Sharks through his veteran leadership. Grier expects him to bring a constant burst of speed and tenacity to the team. These are all in hopes that his contract valuation of $9 million for three years gets a significant increase before the season wraps up.

There are a lot of moves to monitor from Grier in the Sharks. Would you love to see both of these players back with San Jose next season?