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Tyson Barrie

Flames Waive, Reassign Tyson Barrie

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Feb. 21, 1:43 p.m.: Barrie cleared waivers Friday, per PuckPedia. The AHL’s transaction log reflects he’d been loaned to the Wranglers.

Feb. 20, 1:04 p.m.: Barrie has indeed hit waivers, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

Feb. 20, 11:52 a.m.: The Flames will place defenseman Tyson Barrie on waivers today, per Frank Seravalli of Sportsnet. If no team issues a claim, he’ll head to AHL Calgary.

Saying Barrie has barely played this season would be an understatement. After catching on in Calgary on a camp tryout and subsequently landing a one-year, $1.25MM deal, the 33-year-old has failed to mesh. He’s made just 13 appearances despite remaining healthy for the entirety of the campaign, recording a goal and two assists with a minus-seven rating while averaging 15:48 per game, the lowest deployment of his 14-year career.

Between mid-November and mid-January, Barrie went more than two months without playing, eventually seeing two games of AHL ice on a conditioning stint that didn’t require waivers. He posted another goal and two assists in those contests and was back in the NHL less than a week later. He’s skated in four games since that conditioning stint wrapped up but, despite recording an assist in his return against the Capitals on Jan. 28, posted a negative rating in all of those appearances. He was again scratched for three of Calgary’s final four contests before the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Thus, the Barrie experiment with the Flames is all but over. They recalled youngsters Yan Kuznetsov and Ilya Solovyov from the minors yesterday, so they’ll be the ones responsible for taking over the veteran’s limited NHL minutes.

Whether anyone wants to take a flyer on the former top-four option, who had 55 points as recently as two years ago with the Oilers and Predators, remains to be seen. The 2009 third-round pick has a 110-398–508 scoring line in 822 career appearances with Colorado, Edmonton, Nashville, Toronto, and Calgary, ranking ninth in scoring among defensemen since he debuted in the 2011-12 campaign. His career -83 rating is also the 10th-worst among D-men during that span, though, and power-play points have accounted for 42% of his career total.

Waiving Barrie gives the Flames the roster spot they’ll need to activate Connor Zary from injured reserve ahead of their return to play this weekend against the Sharks. Zary’s missed 15 games with a lower-body injury but has practiced with Calgary this week, so he may be an option.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Flames Recall Tyson Barrie, Adam Klapka

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The Flames announced Tuesday they’ve recalled forward Adam Klapka from AHL Calgary and reinstated defenseman Tyson Barrie from his conditioning loan. They only had one open active roster spot, but that’s all they needed since Barrie still counted against the limit during his short-lived demotion.

Barrie could have stayed in the minors for up to 10 more days on his conditioning stint, but he once again finds himself available to dress in an NHL contest. That hasn’t happened since Nov. 12, though, the reason behind his first AHL action in 11 years. The offensive-minded veteran scored once and added a pair of assists in two appearances for the Wranglers over the weekend.

After signing Barrie to a one-year, $1.25MM deal following a successful PTO during training camp, Calgary has only played him in nine of their 48 games this season. The 33-year-old posted a goal and an assist with a minus-two rating while averaging a career-low 15:20 per game. He’ll now return to a battle for minutes with depth defenders Jake Bean, Joel Hanley, Daniil Miromanov, and Brayden Pachal – a battle he’s clearly lost thus far.

The hulking 24-year-old Klapka comes up to replace upstart Rory Kerins as a fourth-line option after the latter was demoted yesterday. The 6’7″ Czech forward skated in six games for Calgary over the first two months of the campaign, going without a point but recording 20 hits in 8:29 of average ice time. He ranks among the AHL club’s point-per-game leaders this season with 25 through 29 appearances, though.

Flames Assign Tyson Barrie To AHL On Conditioning Loan

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The Flames assigned defenseman Tyson Barrie to AHL Calgary on a conditioning loan Friday, per a club announcement. It will be the 33-year-old’s first minor-league action in over 11 years.

Despite not dealing with an injury, Barrie hasn’t suited up for the Flames since mid-November. After being scratched in a remarkable 29 straight contests, the veteran will once again get some playing time, even if at a lower level of competition.

Barrie hasn’t been a factor for Calgary after joining the organization on a tryout and landing a one-year, $1.25MM contract near the end of training camp. He was scratched for all but three games in October before getting an extended run of play in November, posting a goal and an assist with a minus-two rating in nine appearances before heading to the press box for the last two-plus months.

Whether the 5’11” righty’s NHL career continues past this season remains to be seen. Once one of the league’s better offensive defensemen with the Avalanche in the mid-2010s, he’s continuously slid down depth charts ever since Colorado traded him to the Maple Leafs in the 2019 deal that sent Nazem Kadri to Denver. His minutes have been reduced in stops with Toronto, Edmonton, Nashville, and now Calgary. Before becoming an unrestricted free agent last summer, he’d dressed in only 41 games with the Preds in the last year of a three-year, $13.5MM commitment, recording 15 points with a -10 rating.

His unimpressive possession metrics in his short stint in Calgary are evidence of how far his two-way game has lapsed. His 49.2 CF% at even strength ranks 18th on the club, and his 3.0 GA/60 is fourth-worst. He was getting second-unit power play time when in the lineup but didn’t produce anything aside from the lone assist.

Barrie will continue counting against the Flames’ cap and roster limit while on a conditioning loan. If they choose to keep him in the minors after two weeks, they’ll have to place him on waivers.

Calgary Flames Sign Tyson Barrie

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6:10 PM: The Flames have officially announced the signing, confirming the one-year, $1.25MM terms.

3:45 PM: Defenseman Tyson Barrie’s professional tryout agreement with the Calgary Flames organization appears to be a success. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports the Flames and Barrie have agreed to a one-year contract for the 2024-25 NHL season worth $1.25MM.

The Flames entered the offseason desperately needing help on defense after the team moved on from Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov, and Oliver Kylington over the last calendar year. Barrie is no longer a steady top-four defenseman able to quarterback a top powerplay unit. Still, he serves as a veteran puck-moving defenseman Calgary can utilize during their transitionary period.

He will likely suit up on the right side of the Flames’ bottom defensive pairing next to Kevin Bahl making Brayden Pachal the team’s seventh defenseman. He likely won’t serve on either of Calgary’s powerplay units unless the team trades one of MacKenzie Weegar or Rasmus Andersson during the 2024-25 regular season.

It will be an important year for Barrie as he looks to prove he has more left in the tank after a disappointing finish to his tenure with the Nashville Predators. He was originally acquired from the Edmonton Oilers to fill the void left by Mattias Ekholm and got off to a strong start with three goals and 12 points in 24 games. Unfortunately, last season did not treat Barrie well as he finished with one goal and 15 points in 41 games largely serving as a healthy scratch most nights.

He’s only a few years away from regularly producing between 40-60 points from the blue line. If Barrie’s first half of the season goes well in Calgary he would immediately become a trade candidate at next year’s trade deadline.

Flames Sign Tyson Barrie To PTO

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Sep. 10: The Flames made Barrie’s PTO official this morning.

Sep. 3: In a twist of circumstances, the Calgary Flames are now reportedly nearing a professional try-out agreement with veteran defender Tyson Barrie. The move was first reported by PuckPedia and verified by TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, who added that the team hopes this will result in more than just a league-minimum contract. Barrie was previously rumored to be headed to the Edmonton Oilers on a PTO, reuniting with the team after one year away. As pointed out by PuckPedia, Barrie maintains the ability to sign a free-agent contract with any team while on his PTO with Calgary.

Barrie will skate for his fourth Canadian franchise on this PTO – having previously played one year in Toronto and three in Edmonton. They were two stops along Barrie’s journeyman career, spanning 13 seasons and four franchises. He continues to be a productive defender, rivaling 40 points in nearly every season between 2013 and 2023 and boasting a career-high of 59 points set in 2018-19. But Barrie’s defensive consistency has completely fallen away, leaving him hard to trust even on a stout Nashville Predators blue line.

Luckily, Calgary has plenty of holes to patch on defense, after turning over Chris Tanev, Noah Hanifin, and Oliver Kylington last season. The Flames have brought in a heap of new faces to handle the change, adding Jake Bean, Daniil Miromanov, Kevin Bahl, Joel Hanley, and Brayden Pachal. Barrie boasts significantly more NHL experience and scoring upside than any of those options. That could be enough to win out a prominent role with a strong showing at training camp, especially amid competition a decade younger.

Any role on the Flames’ blue-line could come with major responsibility, as the team shops around top defenders MacKenzie Weegar and Rasmus Andersson ahead of training camp. The departure of either player would immediately vacate 20+ minutes a night on Barrie’s right-hand side – making this veteran PTO signing timely insurance. But as it stands, the long-term outcome of Barrie, who managed just 27 points in 65 games over two seasons with the Predators, is still uncertain.

Oilers Considering Tyson Barrie On PTO

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The Edmonton Oilers are looking for a puck-moving right-handed shot defenseman as they reimagine their defensive core after declining to match Philip Broberg’s offer sheet from the St. Louis Blues a few days ago. TSN’s Dustin Neilson reports the team has considered inking Tyson Barrie to a professional tryout agreement to help fill the void on the back end.

As discussed in a previous article, the Oilers’ defensive core left a lot to be desired even before the departure of Broberg with Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm representing the only true top-four options on the blue line. Barrie is only two years removed from scoring 10 goals and 43 points in 61 games for the Oilers on the blue line and could bridge the gap between the top-pairing and Edmonton’s less desirable options.

It will be interesting to see if Barrie can bounce back after a disappointing season with the Nashville Predators during his age-33 season. Originally acquired from the Oilers in the trade package that brought Ekholm to Alberta, Barrie finished last season with one goal and 15 points in 41 games. The relationship fractured between Barrie and the Predators early last season with the team making him a healthy scratch in early December and permitting him to speak to other teams about a potential opportunity.

Assuming that Edmonton eventually signs Barrie to a PTO and he makes the team out of training camp, he would give the Oilers more flexibility on their back end. The team could then put Barrie next to Brett Kulak on the second defensive pairing and move Darnell Nurse to a more comfortable role on the bottom pairing. Barrie is not necessarily a defensive liability but he saw his E +/- dip to nearly -13 in only 65 games with the Predators.

Barrie is not the only option that could interest Edmonton as Justin Schultz and Kevin Shattenkirk still sit without homes for the 2024-25 NHL season. The former has experience with the Oilers organization from earlier in his career, but certainly not as recent as Barrie. Unless Edmonton is confident that their current group can hold down the fort in the Pacific Division until next year’s trade deadline, all signs indicate one of these players will join the Oilers for the upcoming season.

Free Agent Profile: Tyson Barrie

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It wasn’t too long ago that free agent defenseman Tyson Barrie was one of the better power play threats from the back end in the NHL and while his defensive game was a weak spot, he still was counted on to play a notable role.  However, after a rough showing last season, the veteran still finds himself unsigned more than a month into unrestricted free agency.

Back in his prime with Colorado, Barrie was one of the top-end offensive blueliners but with them wanting a second center, they moved him to Toronto, the first stop where he struggled.  Expected to anchor a top power play, he instead struggled; while he still managed to put up 37 points, that was one of his lower full-season totals.

The Maple Leafs opted not to retain him the following year and Barrie found his way to Edmonton as a free agent where, once again, he was expected to anchor a top power play.  This time, he was more successful in that role for nearly three years before being salary-matching ballast in a move that brought the Oilers Mattias Ekholm, a much better fit for them with Evan Bouchard ready to take on the top offensive minutes.

While Barrie finished up the 2022-23 season relatively well after joining the Predators at that trade deadline, things went off the rails entirely last year.  The team gave him permission to talk to other teams in early December to try to facilitate a move but one never materialized.  At that point, Nashville simply decided to make him their seventh defender and once the calendar flipped to 2024, he played in just 12 games the rest of the way, including playoffs, meaning he hit the open market at the age of 33 coming off the worst season of his career.

Stats

2023-24: 41 GP, 1 G, 14 A, 15 PTS, -10, 16 PIMS, 65 shots, 18:19 ATOI, 46.0 CF%
Career: 809 GP, 109 G, 396 A, 505 PTS, -75, 259 PIMS, 1,755 shots, 21:07 ATOI, 49.6 CF%

Potential Suitors

At this point, there aren’t going to be too many options on the table for Barrie.  If he wants a top-six spot, he might have to go into camp on a PTO with a weaker team but if he’s open to having a similar role as he did last year as a seventh option, he could be an intriguing pickup for a team looking for a secondary power play threat.

In the East, the Rangers lost one of their power play threats when Erik Gustafsson went to Detroit in free agency.  Barrie would likely be in a battle for the sixth spot so while he wouldn’t be a regular, he’d give Peter Laviolette another option for games he’d be in the lineup for.  The Bruins can’t do much roster-wise at the moment until Jeremy Swayman signs but if they have room to add an extra rearguard, they don’t have a lot of natural power play fits on the back end so Barrie could fit in a limited role.  The Senators and Blue Jackets also feel like longer-shot landing spots depending on what happens between now and training camp.

Out West, if the Blues opt to look outside the organization for a Torey Krug replacement, Barrie fits that spot well as an offense-first player.  Meanwhile, the Wild don’t have many offensive threats on their back end beyond Brock Faber so adding Barrie would give them some more options on that front, though they would need to massage the salary cap to fit him in.

Projected Contract

Going into the start of free agency, it looked like Barrie could have a case for a deal around $1.5MM.  That still would have been a big drop-off from the $4.5MM he made in each of the last three seasons but it still would have been an improvement on what he’s likely to get now which is a contract around the minimum salary.  Depending on where he lands, he might have to go the PTO route to get a deal as well.  That’s quite the fall from grace for a player who is in the top ten among points by a defenseman over the past decade.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Smith, Schenn, Second Round, DiPietro

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Forward Cole Smith was held out of Friday night’s Game 6 lineup due to a lower-body injury, per the team (Twitter link). Smith was replaced by Juuso Parssinen making his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut. Parssinen took on a larger role than Smith’s received, stepping into the team’s second line and bumping Mark Jankowski down the lineup. Only three Predators forwards, including Smith, have failed to record at least one point through their first five playoff games. Parssinen will need to quickly join that list, with Nashville down 3-2 in the series.

The Predators also welcomed Luke Schenn back to the lineup, after he missed Game 5 with illness, shares The Athletic’s Thomas Drance (Twitter link). Schenn’s absence made way for Tyson Barrie to return to the lineup. Barrie brought speed and tempo to the lineup, even recording an assist in Nashville’s eventual 2-1 win. But with elimination so close, the Predators opted for the more physical and defensive presence of Schenn.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The NHL has announced the start times for the Second Round’s Eastern Conference matchups. The round will begin with Game 1 between the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers on Sunday, while the Florida Panthers will take on the winner of Toronto versus Boston on Monday. Start times for each of these games haven’t yet been announced. This schedule marks a quick turnaround for Boston or Toronto, while each of Carolina, New York, and Florida will have at least five days off.
  • The Boston Bruins have returned goaltender Michael DiPietro to the minor leagues, per NHL.com’s Mark Divver (Twitter link). DiPietro has served as Boston’s emergency third-string goalie for a handful of playoff games, though he’s yet to play his first game as a Boston Bruin. He instead spent all season with the AHL’s Providence Bruins, where he recorded 18 wins and a .918 save percentage in 30 appearances. He’ll now return to a prime role for Providence, as they prepare to take on one of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Charlotte, or Hartford in the Atlantic Division’s Semifinals.

Central Notes: Barrie, Barlow, Spurgeon

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The Nashville Predators announced today that defenseman Tyson Barrie has suffered an upper-body injury and is out on a day-to-day timeline. Barrie did not play in the team’s loss last night against the Carolina Hurricanes.

It’s been a difficult season for Barrie, who has not performed up to expectations under the new regime in Nashville. The Predators have reportedly given Barrie permission to seek a trade. Seeing as the 32-year-old is a pending unrestricted free agent, Barrie’s performance this season is of heightened long-term importance to the player, so it makes sense that he would look elsewhere for a more advantageous situation in order to enter the open market on the strongest footing possible. But before he can even consider that, he’ll now need to focus on getting back to full health.

Some other notes from the Central Division:

  • One of the Winnipeg Jets’ top prospects, Colby Barlow, is returning to the lineup of his OHL team the Owen Sound Attack. (News via Jets reporter Jamie Thomas) Barlow was selected 18th overall by the Jets at this past summer’s draft and is in the midst of a crucial development season with Owen Sound. He has not played since November 8th, but when healthy scored nine goals and 14 points in 14 games.
  • Minnesota Wild captain Jared Spurgeon has a “decent chance” of returning from injury to play in the team’s game Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo. That would be a big add for the Wild, as Spurgeon has not played since December 10th. The Wild have fared well in his absence but they surely miss the heavy minutes he plays. If nothing else, his return could help lessen the workload placed on the shoulders of rookie Brock Faber, who has gotten close to 30 minutes in several games since Spurgeon got hurt.

Central Notes: Barrie, Lehkonen, Fleury

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Over the weekend, news got out that Predators defenseman Tyson Barrie and his camp had been given permission to seek a trade.  Speaking recently with 102.5 The Game (video link), GM Barry Trotz expressed his frustration over the news being leaked and how Barrie himself handled being made a healthy scratch for the first time in his career last weekend.  The 32-year-old has typically been one of the better offensive producers from the blueline in his career with ten straight seasons of at least 38 points.  However, he has been held without a goal and has just ten assists in his first 23 games this season.  Barrie is in the final year of his contract which carries a $4.5MM AAV and with his offensive struggles so far, it might not be a deal that’s easy to move.  Meanwhile, in his latest piece for The Athletic (subscription link), Pierre LeBrun noted that the Preds aren’t particularly inclined to use their last salary retention slot to help facilitate a swap which will only complicate those attempts further.

More from the Central:

  • Avalanche winger Artturi Lehkonen skated ahead of Colorado’s practice today, relays Corey Masisak of The Denver Post (Twitter link). The 28-year-old has been out for the last month due to a neck injury but was able to shed his neck brace late last month.  There remains no timetable for his return but returning to the ice is at least a step in the right direction.  Lehkonen had three goals and five assists in a dozen games before the injury.
  • Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury remains undecided about his playing future beyond this season, notes John Shipley of the Pioneer Press. The 39-year-old is in his 20th NHL season and second with Minnesota but this one hasn’t gone as well as his first with the team.  Fleury has played in ten games so far heading into tonight’s action, posting a 3.21 GAA with a .884 SV%.  If those hold, it would be the lowest save percentage of his career and his highest GAA since the 2005-06 campaign.  Fleury is in the final year of his contract, one that carries a $3.5MM cap charge.

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