NHL teams in the market for a defenseman should give the Colorado Avalanche a call leading up to the 2016 NHL Draft and free agency.
Tyson Barrie, a talented 25-year-old D-man for the Avalanche, will become a restricted free agent if unsigned July 1. And according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, it doesn’t sound like Barrie will be back in Colorado next season.
“There’s no question in my mind, I think Tyson Barrie is going to be traded,” McKenzie said Friday on TSN 1260, as transcribed by Chris Nichols.
“Yeah. Here’s what I think. This is not going to make any sense, but I’m going to say it anyways. Colorado is looking for a defenseman. But I don’t think they like the economic leverage that Tyson Barrie has right now.
“Tyson Barrie has got a very strong arbitration case. I think he’s going to be looking for a sum of money that Colorado doesn’t feel comfortable in giving him. Therefore I think they’re looking for somebody who — looking for a different type of defenseman maybe, or one that’s not going to cost them as much money.”
The talent level on the Avalanche blue line drops off quite a bit after Barrie and former No. 1 overall pick Erik Johnson. It’s Colorado’s primary area of need this summer after allowing a league-high 4,036 shot attempts at even strength this past season, which was almost 200 more than the 29th-place team.
Barrie tallied 49 points (13 goals, 36 assists) in 78 games for Colorado in 2015-16. He had a career-high 53 points during the 2014-15 campaign.
Thumbnail photo via Sergei Belski/USA TODAY Sports Images
