The Nashville Predators have given defenceman Tyson Barrie permission to talk to other teams for a potential trade.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Saturday that with the permission granted to Barrie, he is expected to be a healthy scratch in the Predators’ Saturday game against the New York Rangers as the team works to find a better fit for the 32-year-old blueliner. 
Barrie is approaching unrestricted free agency after this year’s campaign and currently carries a $4.5 million cap hit for the Predators. In 22 games this season, he’s scored nine points while maintaining an average ice time of 18:51. The Predators acquired Barrie alongside prospect Reid Schaefer and two draft picks from the Edmonton Oilers before the 2023 trade deadline in March. In exchange, Nashville sent Mattias Ekholm and a 2024 sixth-round pick to the Oilers. 
Last year, the defenceman concluded an impressive season by scoring ten goals and 43 points with the Oilers and an additional three goals and 12 points in the remaining 24 games with the Predators. 
Barrie’s journey in the NHL has seen him don jerseys for four different teams since his debut with the Colorado Avalanche in 2011-12 following his selection by them as the 64th overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft. During his eight-year tenure, he hit the 50-point mark thrice (2014-15, 2017-18, 2018-19) before being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2019. 
After one year with the Maple Leafs, where he posted five goals and 39 points, he opted to sign with the Oilers as a free agent, where he’d spend the next two and a half seasons. 
Throughout 790 career games, Barrie has totalled 108 goals and 499 points. He’s contributed another two goals and 20 points during 46 playoff games, including three appearances with the Avalanche, one with the Maple Leafs, and two postseason appearances with the Oilers.

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Blue Jackets place Daniil Tarasov on LTIR

The Columbus Blue Jackets announced goaltender Daniil Tarasov has been moved to the long-term injured reserve effective analytically from October 12th to loan him to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters, for a conditioning stint.
The 24-year-old netminder hasn’t appeared in a single game this season for the Blue Jackets as he’s been sidelined with a knee injury, missing the first 25 games.
Cap Friendly explained on Saturday that because the Columbus organization has more than $3 million in cap space and would not be benefiting themselves by going into the LTIR, the NHL allows them to continue using regular cap space in this specific scenario.
The team can continue to collect cap space on the $83.5 million upper limit without using the LTIR. Tarasov can be loaned to the AHL for up to three games per the league’s rehab rules for long-term injuries.
The goaltender is set to start for Lake Erie on Saturday night to prompt him into working his way back to his prime condition.
Tarasov was impressive during his first season of NHL competition in 2021-22, posting a .937 save percentage in his four appearances, including three starts with the Blue Jackets. However, last season saw a different outcome from the six-foot-five goaltender, his performance decreasing to a .892 save percentage and a 3.91 goals-against average in 17 games.
His contract runs through next season with a $1.05 million cap hit. Still, Tarasov is a potential long-term solution in between the pipes for the Blue Jackets after flashing plausible performance rates in the KHL before moving into the NHL.
So far this season, the Blue Jackets have relied on the production of goaltending tandem Elvis Merzlikins and Spencer Martin, who combined for a .908 save percentage.

IIHF announces mandatory neck guards for Men’s U18 and World Juniors

The International Ice Hockey Federation will make neck protection compulsory equipment for the Men’s Under-18 Championship and World Junior Championship, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported.
The Western Hockey League and Ontario University Athletics have recently made neck guards mandatory following the death of English Ice Hockey Association player and former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Adam Johnson of the Nottingham Panthers on October 28th, who succumbed to his injuries following a cut to the neck during a game.
The IIHF has not announced any final decision on whether or not it will make neck protection mandatory for its senior men’s and women’s world championships.
Following the death of Johnson, neck protection has become a considerably popular topic across the hockey community. The Penguins began requiring players on their American Hockey League and ECHL teams to wear neckguards. Additionally, they encouraged NHL players to wear neck protection.
During the NHL Global Series last month that sent the Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Minnesota Wild to Stockholm, Sweden, for two games each, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman spoke on the matter.
“Players are free to wear neck guards,” Bettman told the media. “I would strongly encourage it as a personal matter.”
Several leagues have implemented neckguard mandates across the entirety of their organizations. The WHL and EIHL worked promptly to ensure better safety for its players. At the same time, Hockey Canada, the Ontario Hockey League, and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League have a history of forcing players to wear neckguards over the years.
The World Juniors is set to hit the stage for the traditional Boxing Day start in Gothenburg, Sweden, this year. Meanwhile, the Men’s Under-18s will occur in Espoo and Vantaa, Finland, and will begin on April 25th.