Mike Chambers, who covers the Colorado Avalanche for the Denver Post, appears to have dropped a bomb on the NHL’s off-season. Chambers sat down with Colorado GM Joe Sakic (full post here) and got answers on some key issues surrounding the team. One of those issues? Pending RFA D Tyson Barrie.
Avalanche NOT trading D Tyson Barrie, GM Joe Sakic tells me. LT deal preferred for RFA, or arbitration. “Either way, he’ll be here” – Sakic
— Mike Chambers (@MikeChambers) June 16, 2016
Tyson Barrie is a defender who has been talked about quite a bit on this blog. I profiled him for my off-season targets series (here) and took a deeper look at him to see what all the hype was about (here). Our very own Jonathan McLeod also touched on Barrie, mentioning that he was a distinct possibility for the team (here).
So….What Now?:
Earlier this off-season the Oilers saw their ideal candidate for a RHD, Travis Hamonic, rescind his trade request from the New York Islanders. Oilers Insider Bob Stauffer tweeted out recently that he doesn’t think Justin Faulk and Kevin Shattenkirk are in play for the Oilers either, taking three options off the board.
With yesterday’s news on Barrie, it appears that Edmonton’s top four options to fill the massive hole on the right side of the defensive group are off the market. That is, quite frankly, a nightmare scenario for GM Peter Chiarelli.
The top option, in my mind, is likely to be Sami Vatanen. The Anaheim defender is a solid puck mover and is a big time weapon on the powerplay, but he’s likely only a second pairing option. A lot of people are pushing for Jason Demers. I’m not 100% sold on him, but he is by far the top UFA when it comes to RHD.
The Oilers could always load up on lefties as well, trading for someone like Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm or Jonas Brodin. Keith Yandle would become a viable UFA option for the team in that situation, as would Brian Campbell.
There are still options on the board, but they are significantly less appealing and do not completely fill the holes that Edmonton has.
From here, Jason Demers might be the best bet for the hockey club. Could the Oilers add him and, say, Sami Vatanen? Would be nice at this stage.
Wait Just A Second Now:
Hold on, this doesn’t make any sense! Wasn’t Barrie the poor soul who faced the public wrath of his coach, Patrick Roy, late in the season? Isn’t this the same Tyson Barrie who has been linked to trade rumors by the top insiders in the business for the last two months? Now he’s going back to Colorado?
Sorry, but I’m a little skeptical of this. I’m not calling out Mike Chambers, he’s doing his job and is reporting what Sakic told him directly. That said, I think this is some big time posturing by the Colorado GM. He’s not going to try and cast any doubt over Barrie’s future and isn’t going to come out and say that he’s trading the player.
Is this an attempt on Sakic’s part to try and raise the value of the player? I have no inside information to suggest this, but this is what I believe to be the case. There has been so much speculation surrounding him that to pull it all back now seems unlikely. Colorado likely made up their mind on Barrie, I don’t think he will be back with the team.
The bottom line here is that no player is untouchable and that members of management don’t always tell the truth when it comes to this stuff. I’m sure if you look back at Craig MacTavish, Steve Tambellini and Kevin Lowe press conferences, you’ll hear them say things that ended up not being true. It’s part of the negotiation process.
Could Colorado hang onto Tyson Barrie? Absolutely they could, but I’d be very surprised. There has been so much smoke surrounding this player that this seems like posturing by Sakic. Remember, some believe that Hamonic still desires to be traded, but rescinded the request in order to help Garth Snow get better value.
What we see get reported and what people say out in the open is, more often than not, different than what is going on behind closed doors.
I’d take this Tyson Barrie news with a grain of salt.
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