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Tyson Barrie

Snapshots: St. Louis, Barrie, Marner

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Sixteen years ago today was one to remember for the Tampa Bay Lightning, as on July 31st, 2000 they signed Martin St. Louis after he’d been released by the Calgary Flames.  One of the biggest little-men in NHL history, the 5’8″ St. Louis would go on to score 953 points for the Lightning, and helped lead them to their first and only Stanley Cup championship in 2004.  Their all-time leading scorer, and a two-time Olympian, St. Louis finished his career with the New York Rangers and is currently #71 on the all-time points list. He’s got a good case for a hall-of-fame induction eventually, and it’s all because Tampa Bay gave the diminutive forward a second-chance in the NHL.

  • The only player to have reached salary arbitration this year, Tyson Barrie had his hearing on Friday to determine his cost for the upcoming season. The arbitrator had 48 hours to make her decision, and that window will come to an end at 1:30pm today central time. We profiled Barrie’s case last week, and showed how well he compares to some of the elite offensive defensemen in the league. Now, with only a few hours left (as of this writing) to negotiate a deal, it’s coming down to the wire for the two sides to reconcile their perceived differences.
  • Mitch Marner, the sometimes-forgotten uber-prospect in the Maple Leafs system is in an interesting situation this season; the 19-year old is too young for the AHL, and must either crack the NHL roster or go back to junior to play for the OHL’s London Knights. When asked about his possible play at this year’s World Junior Championship, Marner intimated that he’s doing everything he can to stay in the NHL. “It’s not up to me. If I am in the OHL, then I am going to play and look forward to it.”  Fellow top-prospect Dylan Strome was much less reserved about his hopes for next year when he was asked the same thing by Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun: “I feel like I’m done with junior, and don’t want to be there next year, but if Arizona thinks it’s best for me, I don’t have a choice.” Strome and Marner were picked third and fourth overall in the 2015 draft, following Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel, who have both already made an impact at the NHL level.

Snapshots: Hossa, Barrie, Vesey

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The Athletic’s Scott Powers writes that Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa is just fine with whatever comes his way during the 2016-17 season. The 37-year-old winger has slowed a bit since joining the Hawks in 2009-10 and had his lowest point total since the 1998-99 season. Powers reports that Hossa is cognizant of where he is in his career, and that the extra rest following a first round playoff loss to the Blues has recharged Hossa mentally and physically.

Hossa is comfortable with a more defensive-minded role, Powers adds. The gifted two-way forward’s impact on possession should remain stable even while his numbers decline. Underrated throughout the seven seasons of his Blackhawk career is the impact he has on the ice disrupting plays defensively, and then setting up scoring chances at the other end–oftentimes in the same shift.

Though he climbs in age, Hossa’s value to the Hawks is anything but diminished. If the Hawks are fortunate enough to land Jimmy Vesey, the offense that Vesey could generate would more than compensate for Hossa’s drop off. If anything, a full-out defensive minded Hossa would only ratchet up the Stanley Cup expectations in Chicago.

In other NHL news:

  • Adrian Dater argues that the purported angst between Tyson Barrie and the Colorado Avalanche  isn’t as bad as many think. He also shoots down the rumor that the Avs will deal the young d-man. Dater indicates that the Avs still own Barrie’s rights for another three seasons and wouldn’t dream of dealing him unless the trade package was significant. Dater writes that the Avs are in the “driver’s seat” when it comes to Barrie and that both sides see this negotiation as business, not personal.
  • Dater also weighs in on the Vesey-to-Blackhawks speculation and claims that the Hawks would likely use Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane as recruiting tools to bring the young forward into the fold. With every organization being bound to the same financial constraints, Dater writes that the Hawks are head and shoulders above other teams because of their prestige and standing in the league. Vesey would also be an affordable top six forward for the Hawks. In true Dater fashion, he concludes by saying “he’s been wrong before.” Regardless, Dater joins the cacophony of voices reporting the Hawks’ high chance of landing the coveted winger.

Snapshots: Coyotes; Gagner; Barrie

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News and notes around the NHL:

  • With the recent signings of Connor Murphy and Michael Stone, the Arizona Coyotes now have eight defensemen signed to NHL deals—and that’s not even including top draft prospect Jake Chychrun, whom the Coyotes moved up for in the 2016 NHL Draft. As Craig Morgan of AZSports writes, the backlog of NHL-ready defensemen poses both problem and prosperity for the team. It creates a logjam of defensemen and little opportunity for prospects like Chychrun to get playing time, but it also gives them expendable pieces to upgrade other areas. The Coyotes may have to look elsewhere for offensive help if they cannot re-sign RFA Tobias Rieder before the season starts. Trading from a position of strength to obtain a forward kills two birds with one stone. Take a look at Arizona’s depth chart at Roster Resource.
  • UFA Sam Gagner is close to signing a deal with an NHL team, according to his agent. Gagner last played for the Philadelphia Flyers where he scored 8G and 8A in 53 games. The Canadian center held much promise as a member of the Edmonton Oilers from 2007-2014, including netting eight points in one game, but never fulfilled the potential scouts thought he had. Gagner will probably take a one-year “prove it” deal to try and revitalize his career.
  • RFA Tyson Barrie completed his arbitration hearing today, and the arbitrator will issue her decision within 48 hours. Because Colorado offered a $4MM contract, and Barrie offered a $6MM contract, the arbitrator’s decision will most likely meet the threshold ($3.9MM) to open up Colorado’s walk-away rights. If Colorado chooses to invoke those rights, they will be stuck with the arbitrator’s decision for one year before Barrie becomes a free agent. When a team elects a two-year term decision for any player-elected salary arbitration, using walk away rights reduces the arbitrator’s decision down to one year, and then the player becomes a UFA.

 

Arbitration Hearing Opens For Tyson Barrie

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The Denver Post’s Terry Frei reports that Tyson Barrie’s arbitration meeting opened this morning in Toronto. After failing to agree on terms with the Colorado Avalanche, arbitrator Elizabeth Neumeier was presented the arguments for both sides.

Barrie’s camp argues that the defenseman is due a one-year, $6MM deal while the Avalanche counter that the 25-year-old be paid $4MM in 2016-17, and $4.25MM in 2017-18.

Frei writes that Neumeier will make her decision within the next 48 hours. Meanwhile, James Mirtle tweets that the hearing could get “ugly,” though there are still some who believe a deal could get done. The Avs d-man should receive a hefty raise regardless of term.

PHR provided an arbitration preview for Barrie earlier in the week.

Colorado Avalanche Depth Chart

 

Arbitration Breakdown: Tyson Barrie

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Early Wednesday morning it was reported that the Colorado Avalanche and Tyson Barrie have exchanged arbitration numbers in advance of their hearing scheduled for Friday. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet tells us that the the team has offered a two-year deal worth a total of $8.25MM, while Barrie’s camp has countered with a one-year, $6MM pact.

[For more background on the arbitration process, consult Parts One and Two of our Capology 101: Arbitration series.]

Barrie has played parts of five seasons already for the Avalanche, after being selected in the third-round of the 2009 draft and putting up impressive numbers in the AHL. His offensive game has been excellent since his debut, scoring 153 points in 264 games.

Last year, Barrie saw a slight dip in point production and a huge swing in plus/minus, ending with a -16 rating, third worst on the team (behind Jarome Iginla and Erik Johnson).  There have been detractors of Barrie’s defensive game for his entire career, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to improve a ton at this point.

Barrie does, however, have solid possession stats because of his deftness with the puck. He is a breakout machine when he does recover the puck in his own end, and can anchor a powerplay on any team. His 18 assists with the man-advantage led his team by a wide margin, and put him among the league leaders.

For what it’s worth, Barrie’s name has been bandied in trade (or offer sheet) speculation all summer, with some thinking that Colorado may not want to pay him what he’ll earn in arbitration.  His $6MM ask is a big one, which would equal Erik Johnson as the team’s highest paid defenseman.

Barrie’s Stats

2015-16: 78 GP, 13 G, 36 A, 49 P, 23:12 ATOI, -17 rating
Career: 264 GP, 40 G, 113 A, 153 P, 21:06 ATOI, -7 rating

Potential Comparables

Dougie Hamilton (Calgary) – Hamilton avoided arbitration before last season by signing a huge six-year, $34.5MM ($5.75MM AAV) deal on June 30th, a deal that is surely Barrie’s target in negotiations. Hamilton had played in less games, had lower production, but was a full three years younger than Barrie is now, and had been a top-ten pick. While Hamilton’s 6’5″ frame doesn’t compare very well, the deal for a puck moving offensive d-man does.

Nick Leddy (Islanders) – Leddy is a more age-appropriate comparison, and the Islander blueliner re-signed last season for a seven-year $38.5MM ($5.5MM AAV) deal that will keep him in Brooklyn (or Queens, or Nassau) for the long-term. Leddy had more games under his belt but trailed in production, only reaching 40 points for the first time this past year. He was, however, a possession-driving force similar to Barrie, and was coming off a season which garnered him Norris votes.

T.J. Brodie (Calgary) – Brodie didn’t have the same track record when he signed his five-year, $23.25MM deal before last season, but he was coming off a year similar to Barrie’s latest. Brodie is seen as a better two-way defender, but doesn’t have quite the offensive flair, which may be why his AAV of $4.65MM comes in well under the other two examples despite still being a very valuable member of the Flames’ back-end.

Projection

With the two sides nearly $2MM apart, it’s indicative of the reported distance in negotiations thus far.  While no other player has actually reached a hearing this summer, Barrie might be the first to leave his award in the hands of an arbitrator.  If a long-term deal is struck, Barrie might consider taking something around $4.75MM per season, but if it heads to a hearing it’s hard to believe the arbitrator will award anything less than $5MM.

With Barrie ranking just outside the top-10 in defenseman scoring across the last three seasons, he’ll point to the huge deals that the rest of his comparables have signed, and demand something in-line with those contracts.  We project a one-year, $5.25MM award from the arbitrator should the sides not be able to come to an agreement.

Arbitration Tracker

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Ten days ago, the NHLPA released the schedule for player and team-elected arbitration hearings. Since then, four hearing dates have come and gone with no hearings, with eight players agreeing to contracts to avoid the unpleasant process.

Here’s an updated list of all 24 players who were scheduled for an arbitration hearing:

Player Elected Filings:

Arizona Coyotes
Michael Stone – Stone and the tough-negotiating Coyotes have a hearing set for August 4.

Colorado Avalanche
Tyson Barrie – Hearing set for July 29. Barrie has been the subject of near-constant trade rumors this summer.
Mikhail Grigorenko – Agreed to a one-year, $1.3MM contract on July 20, just two days before the scheduled hearing.

Detroit Red Wings
Jared Coreau – Agreed to a two-year, $1.25MM contract on July 6, well before any hearings were scheduled.
Danny DeKeyser – Signed a six-year deal on July 26th, locking him up long-term for the Red Wings.

Minnesota Wild
Jordan Schroeder – The Wild signed Schroeder to a one-year, two-way deal on July 23rd worth $675K in the NHL and $275K in the AHL.

Nashville Predators
Petter Granberg – Signed a two-year, two-way deal worth $575K / $175K (300K guaranteed) in the first year, and $650K / $175K in the second.
Calle Jarnkrok – Signed a six-year, $12MM deal July 27th.

New York Rangers
Kevin Hayes – Signed a two-year, $5.2MM deal Friday afternoon, hours after Kreider.
Chris Kreider – The Rangers and Kreider agreed to a four-year, $18.5MM contract Friday morning, beating the scheduled 9am arbitration meeting.
Dylan McIlrath – The massive defender signed a one-year, $800k contract last week, beating his hearing by a week.
J.T. Miller – World Cup-bound Miller and the Rangers settled on a two-year, $2.75MM contract on July 13.

Ottawa Senators
Mike Hoffman – After a long negotiation, the Senators and Hoffman agreed to a four-year, $20.75MM deal on July 27th.

Philadelphia Flyers
Brandon Manning – Manning got an unexpected second year in his two-year, $1.95MM deal he signed on July 26th.
Brayden Schenn – Schenn and the Flyers agreed to a four-year deal worth $5.125MM AAV.
Jordan Weal – Acquired by the Flyers in the Vincent Lecavalier trade, Weal signed a one-year, two-way, $650K contract the day the arbitration schedule was released.

St. Louis Blues
Jaden Schwartz – The Blues signed their young star to a five-year, $5.5MM contract last week.

Tampa Bay Lightning
Alex Killorn – The clutch playoff performer signed a long-term extension over the weekend, agreeing to $4.45MM per year for seven seasons.
Vladislav Namestnikov – World Cup-bound forward signed a two-year deal worth $1.9375MM on July 26th, three days before arbitration hearing.

Toronto Maple Leafs
Frank Corrado – Toronto signed Corrado to a one-year, one-way deal worth $600K on July 25.
Peter Holland – Holland signed a one-year deal worth $1.3MM on July 25.
Martin Marincin – The promising young shut-down defenseman is scheduled for arbitration on August 2.

Washington Capitals
Marcus Johansson – Johansson agreed to a three-year, $4.58MM contract just minutes before his hearing was set to begin.

CLUB ELECTED FILINGS:

Detroit Red Wings
Petr Mrazek – Just before his hearing on July 27th, Mrazek and the Red Wings inked a two-year, $8MM deal. With Jimmy Howard still earning $5.3MM for next season, the duo is one of the more expensive in the league.

We’ve previously explained the arbitration process as part of our Capology 101 series. Check out our Mike Furlano’s articles on eligibility and the arbitration process.

Grigorenko, Avalanche Settle On Terms

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According to Tim Wharnsby of CBC, the Colorado Avalanche and RFA forward Mikhail Grigorenko have agreed to terms on a contract for 2016-17. Grigorenko, who had an arbitration hearing scheduled for Friday and who just exchanged numbers with the club this morning, will receive $1.3MM for the upcoming campaign. The Avalanche had offered $950K with Grigorenko’s camp countering at $1.65MM. The settlement comes in at exactly the midpoint.

Grigorenko finished with six goals and 27 points in his first season with the Avalanche after coming over from Buffalo as part of the return in the blockbuster Ryan O’Reilly trade. The 22-year-old natural center has 12 goals and 41 points in 142 NHL contests.

The Sabres selected Grigorenko in the first-round, 12th overall, of the 2012 entry draft. Grigerenko played his junior hockey for Quebec in the QMJHL under current Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy. That likely played a role in his inclusion in the trad package for O’Reilly.

The signing leaves Tyson Barrie as the club’s lone remaining RFA. With more than $6MM in space left according to General Fanager, the Avalanche should have the necessary room to get a deal done with the defenseman, even if negotiations have reportedly not gone smoothly.

NHL Notes: RFA Defensemen

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As we mentioned earlier this week, there are several very talented Restricted Free Agents (RFAs) who have yet to sign contracts for next season. Of the 24 RFA defensemen who played in the NHL last season, 15 of them averaged more than 15 minutes per game (minimum 25 GP). Despite the high value of young capable defensemen (see Larsson, Adam), it is the their teams who appear to have the upper hand in negotiations.

Let’s take a look at the top five unsigned defensemen:

1. Hampus Lindholm – Anaheim Ducks – The Ducks number one defenseman, Lindholm averaged 22:00 minutes per night last season with superior possession numbers. His 28 points were 54th among defensemen, but Lindholm is still a bona fide top-pairing option. Lindholm is likely looking for a long-term contract in the $5-6MM range, similar to the Morgan Rielly ($5MM, Seth Jones ($5.4MM), and Nick Leddy ($5.5MM). The Ducks would probably prefer something lower, in the Travis Hamonic ($3.86MM), Oscar Klefbom ($4.17MM), and Justin Faulk ($4.83MM) range. Anaheim is a budget team, and is already only $8.4MM away from the cap ceiling with Lindholm and Rickard Rakell still to sign. Lindholm is not eligible for arbitration, and an offer sheet seems unlikely given the current NHL climate.

2. Tyson Barrie – Colorado Avalanche – Barrie seems to be constantly featured in trade rumors, mainly due to his high-end offensive ability (49 points last season) and coach Patrick Roy’s apparent lack of confidence in him. It doesn’t help that the Avalanche have just $8.3MM in cap space before Barrie and Mikhail Grigorenko’s arbitration hearings in late July. Barrie and his agent don’t need to look any further than teammate Eric Johnson’s $6MM salary for a starting point; Barrie outscored Johnson by 22 points in similar time-on-ice.

3. Rasmus Ristolainen – Buffalo Sabres – Ristolainen lead the Sabres in ice-time by just under 500 minutes. He was also fourth in team scoring with 41 points. He’s also extremely big at 6’4, 207 lbs and mobile. Ristolainen is already the Sabres best defenseman, and he’ll only be 22 in October. The Sabres will look to sign him long-term somewhere in the Faulk to Rielly range. The Sabres have approximately $11MM in cap space and still need to lock up Marcus Foligno and Zemgus Girgensons.

4. Jacob Trouba – Winnipeg Jets – Trouba is in an interesting situation in Winnipeg: he’s considered a future top-pairing player, and is big, mobile, and right-handed. However, he’s blocked from playing top-four minutes by fellow right-handers Dustin Byfulgien and Tyler Myers. Trouba has played the left side before, but like most players performs better on his natural side. There seems to be two options for Trouba; he can sign a bridge-deal and earn a big payday in two seasons when Mark Stuart and Toby Enstrom are free agents, or he can holdout for the big payday now. There was some talk last month about the Bruins looking at Trouba as an offer sheet candidate, but that seems to have passed. He’s not eligible for arbitration, so the ball is in Winnipeg’s court.

5. Danny DeKeyser – Detroit Red Wings – With Niklas Kronwall turning 35 last season, DeKeyser appears poised to be the next big man on the Red Wings blueline. The two defensemen lead the team in ice time, and DeKeyser will likely pass Krowall in that regard next season. The 25-year-old DeKeyser put up just 20 points last season, however Mike Green was the only defenseman who scored more. DeKeyser is scheduled for arbitration on July 28, but could very likely come to a longer agreement with the Red Wings before then.

Free Agent Focus: Colorado Avalanche

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The 2015-16 season was a very disappointing step backwards for the Colorado Avalanche, who finished up 39-39-4 and missed the playoffs by 5 points. For a team that just two years prior had won the Central division with 112 points, it’s a steep two year decline. With a trio of elite forwards in Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon, the team should never be that far removed from another excellent season. With rumors swirling around their defense corps, it should be an interesting offseason.

Key RFAs: D Tyson Barrie and MacKinnon – One of the most discussed players already this summer, Barrie has been rumored to be on the block after another excellent offensive season which saw him put up 49 points from the back end.

Barrie was a third round pick out of Kelowna in 2009 and has quietly become one of the better point producers in the league from the blueline. With 140, he ranks 11th in the NHL over the last three years in points from defensemen, ahead of players like Drew Doughty, Ryan Suter and Alex Pietrangelo. Those rankings are going to make him awfully expensive as he comes off a two-year $5.2MM deal that he signed when he was just 22.

If they do re-sign him long-term, Colorado will be committing a lot of money to two defensemen as they already have Erik Johnson signed at $6MM/year until 2022-23.

With MacKinnon, Colorado basically is going to pay whatever it takes. The former first overall pick has put up exceptional numbers from the moment he stepped into the NHL as an 18 year old, netting 153 points (59-94) in 218 games, all before his 21st birthday.

If the Avalanche can’t get him signed to a long-term deal that buys out a few free agent seasons, look for him to sign a deal similar to the one Duchene signed coming out of his entry-level contract.  After putting up three seasons that look eerily similar to MacKinnon’s (150 points in 219 games), he inked a two-year $7MM deal before the 2012-13 season.

Colorado might play it the same way, as Duchene eventually re-signed for five more seasons at $6MM/year buying out a couple years of free agency along the way. Having MacKinnon and Duchene for under $15MM together in a few years would be an ideal situation for the Avs as they continue to play at an all-star level.

Other RFAs: C Mikhail Grigorenko, G Calvin Pickard, C Andreas Martinsen

Key UFA: W Mikkel Boedker – GM Joe Sakic is on record as saying the trade deadline acquisition will be allowed to test free agency come July 1, but the 26-year-old Dane has not ruled out a return to the Mile High City. Despite Boedker never having reached the 20-goal plateau, it’s expected his ask will be around the $5-6MM mark.

Other UFAs: C/L Shawn Matthias, D Zach Redmond, RW Jack Skille, D Andrew Bodnarchuk

Outlook: The Avalanche will look to improve their defence core this summer. However, Sakic will need to think twice about any defensive help, as the team must protect Johnson and 35-year-old Francois Beauchemin in the expansion draft. Tyson Barrie will also need to be protected, meaning as it is hulking prospect Nikita Zadorov will likely be exposed. Also interesting will be the Avalanche’s goalie situation, with both Semyon Varlamov and goalie-of-the-future Pickard needing to be protected.

Despite Barrie’s success and Sakic’s insistence otherwise, it’s widely believed that Barrie will be on the move soon. With many buyers and fewer sellers, the market for defensemen will certainly be interesting to watch.

Avalanche Notes: Barrie, MacKinnon

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Despite rumors to the contrary, Colorado Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie is going nowhere reports Denver Post writer Mike Chambers. Chambers secured an exclusive interview with general manager Joe Sakic who indicated that though negotiations could end in discussions with an arbitrator, Barrie is expected to remain a member of the organization. Barrie made $3.2MM last season and is projected to receive a bump along with a long term deal.

Sakic is also set to negotiate with star forward Nathan MacKinnon, who saw his entry level deal expire. MacKinnon had 52 points (21-31) during the 2015-2016 season. The #1 overall pick in the 2013 NHL draft, Chambers reports that MacKinnon is considered part of the core group that includes Gabe Landeskog, Matt Duchene, Erik Johnson, Semyon Varlamov and Barrie. He should receive a hefty raise as a result, whether it comes through a bridge or long term deal.

While the Avs have been unable to make the playoffs since their promising 2013-2014 campaign, Sakic’s patience shows that Colorado is far from making any wholesale changes. While speculation has run rampant over the future of the Avs, it appears Sakic is fine with what he has and will add where he sees fit.

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