Speaking Of… Tyson Barrie

Two Speaking Of’s in one week? What is this madness? Who’s letting Chris write so many bad articles? What happened to them being only on Tuesdays? Why has it been raining all week in Edmonton? Also, why isn’t Tyson Barrie an Oiler yet? 

On Friday, Tyson Barrie became the first player in the NHL to go through contract arbitration this summer. No word has come from the hearing yet, but the arbitrator, Elizabeth Neumeier, will be delivering a verdict within the next 48 hours. However, the Avalanche and Tyson Barrie are still allowed to agree on a deal before the arbitrator files a ruling. 

Yes it may sound like I’m treating this as a high profile court case. Well, in my books, the significance of the Barrie arbitration is similar to waiting for a verdict to come out. All of Oil Country (me, at least) are holding their breaths as we wait to find out the fate of Tyson Barrie. With that said, I am REALLY hoping Patrick Roy was in that meeting room, as he has publicly stated his thoughts on Barrie, which were not good.

Patrick Roy thinks Barrie will be no more than a fifth best defenseman on his team, and a power play specialist. Well you know what Patrick? We LOVE turning fifth rank defensemen into 25-minutes/night, top line defensemen. In all seriousness, I think Roy seriously undervalues Tyson Barrie, and we will do the opposite. The Oilers need a “powerplay specialist” like Barrie. Disregarding his lack of size, a defenseman that could put up 50 points a season would be a new feeling for us. Barrie’s AAV was $2.6M in Colorado, and with the Oilers having more than $8M in projected cap space going into next season, we are sure to find room for him.

In the meantime, we will sit back and wait. From what I’ve read, no one has the feeling that Barrie will get signed long-term after this arbitration. Perhaps a bridge deal is in the works? A good thing for us, is that arbitrations always have potential for a bad breakup. Tyson Barrie becoming available after this weekend could make Oiler fans very excited. 

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