There was no way Tyson Barrie was returning to the Nashville Predators after last season. He wasn’t a good fit and even though the right side of the Predators is much weaker, there isn’t room for him. That being said, the veteran has gone unsigned to this point, but is close to a PTO (professional tryout) with the Calgary Flames.
In the right role, Barrie can still be effective in the NHL. He wasn’t bad later in the season when he got in some games for the Predators. This season, the Flames have a need, and that need might grow a ton depending on how trade talks play out.
The Flames recently moved on from defensemen like Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, and Oliver Kylington and replaced them with less experienced d-men in Jake Bean, Daniil Miromanov, Kevin Bahl, Brayden Pachal, and Joel Hanley. That is a huge change and there’s not much evidence any one of them can handle a big role on the Flames, even in a rebuilding year.
As the Flames try to break down the roster more, it appears like Rasmus Andersson and Mackenzie Weegar‘s names are on the trade block. Both carry a lot of value and would leave a huge hole on the back-end to fill. As they are both right-shot defensemen, Barrie, on a contract that’s even above league minimum, would be able to help replace some of what was lost and what still may be lost.
Barrie is not far removed from success in Edmonton before Evan Bouchard took over the key role on the right side. Barrie played just 65 games in a season and a bit for the Predators, scoring four goals and 27 points. He wasn’t in a role to succeed, not getting the power-play time he was used to, but still recorded a respectable amount of points. Barrie is a power-play specialist and if the Flames sign him, he could take the weight off of Andersson and Weegar while providing the most value he can.
Barrie is not long removed from scoring 13 goals and 55 points in 2022-23, split between the Edmonton Oilers and Predators. A lot of this production came on the power play. The 33-year-old is still more than capable of eating minutes as he played 21:24 for the Predators in 24 games in 2022-23 to close out the season.
Even if Barrie is signed to a PTO by the Flames as rumored, he can still sign a contract with another team. The Flames seem like a great spot for him to land this season.
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