While much of the trade talk coming out of Colorado has focused on Avalanche forward Matt Duchene, it seems another member of Patrick Roy's group has drawn considerable interest during GM Joe Sakic's conversations with other NHL franchises. According to a Monday report from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, Tyson Barrie is a name that other teams want to discuss.
"But one thing I kind of did realize was that if Colorado is going to trade somebody, the name that a lot of teams want to talk about is Tyson Barrie," Friedman said, while appearing on an episode of Calgary's Sportsnet 960, via Today's Slap Shot. "Now I don't think Colorado is there yet. But he's a restricted free agent at the end of the season with arbitration rights, and some teams can see how this might end up being a problem for the Avalanche."
Barrie, a former third-round pick for the Avs in the 2009 NHL Draft, is making $3.2 million this season, and counting $2.6 million against the cap. He's yet to notch a goal this season, but has 10 assists for the struggling Avalanche playing on the second-pairing alongside Nick Holden. He set a career-high in points during the 2014-15 season, collecting 12 goals and 41 assists. He's finished the last two seasons as a plus and is currently plus-one.
Unfortunately, Barrie's possession metrics don't paint such a pretty picture. His Corsi For this season is 46.3 percent. Last season, it was 46.0 percent. His career mark is 48.6.
In short, Barrie's performance seems to embody the struggles of the entire Avs team, defensively. He's a strong player, with ample talent, especially in the offensive zone, but when it comes to holding and keeping the puck, making strong first passes out of the zone and setting up the offense for success, he falls short.
He has a skillset so many teams in the NHL would covet though, and he's just 24. While it would seem ridiculous for the Avs to consider trading a player of his youth and skill level, if he's not considered a long-term part of their future, would it make more sense to trade him now and recoup as big a return as possible, and avoid the risk of a drawn-out arbitration process this summer?
