Grin and Barrie https://t.co/mO4L73CMGu pic.twitter.com/RZEQ8GLkxh
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) June 16, 2016
We are T-Minus 8 days away from the NHL Draft deadline in Buffalo, NY.
Trade rumors are percolating like your grandma's old counter top coffee maker.
One popular rumor making the rounds the past five weeks is a Tyson Barrie to Edmonton for Jordan Eberle trade.
The Barrie for Eberle trade is now destined for the recycle bin alongside the Travis Hamonic and Just Faulk trades to Edmonton. Earlier this week, Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff told TSN that it Jacob Trouba would not be exposed to a trade market. The Jets want to lock up the 22 year old top pair D to a long term contract extension. At what AAV though?
The comparables for this sumner's RFA D studs are Morgan Reilly's 6 year, $30M deal, Dougie Hamilton's 6 year, $34.5M deal and Olli Maata's 6 year, $24.5M deal.
Pete Chiarelli and the Edmonton Oilers must look elsewhere for their right shot, minute munching puck transporter.
The Colorado Avalanche are not, I repeat, are NOT trading their pending restricted free agent D-man Tyson Barrie. This according to a conversation that Avs GM Joe Sakic had with the Denver Post.
Avalanche NOT trading D Tyson Barrie, GM Joe Sakic tells me. LT deal preferred for RFA, or arbitration. "Either way, he'll be here" - Sakic
— Mike Chambers (@MikeChambers) June 16, 2016
So much for big game hunting for Barrie, 24,one of the NHL's best offensive rear guards. Barrie averaged 23:11 TOI in 2014-15. He landed 127 shots on opposing goalies while scoring 13 goals (3 PPG). Barrie also blocked 84 shots.
Barrie proved once again that he can do it all
In 2014-15, Barrie accumulated 53 points and rang up 49 points this season.
Barrie clearly out-performed his most recent two year, $5.2 million contract ($2.6M AAV).
To keep Barrie in Denver for multiple years, Sakic and the Avs are going to have to break the D-man off $5.5 million to $6.5 million per season over the next 8 seasons.
Barrie joins an elite group of young NHL blue liners who are restriucted free agents to be who will be getting paid serious money in the next few weeks. Buffalo Sabres star Rasmus Ristolainen and Anaheim Ducks wonder twins Sami Vatanen and Hampus Lindholm are in the same stratosphere as Barrie is right now. I'm expecting all to be re-signed to long term contract extensions in the Olli Maata range and north of that. When you get your mitts on a young star, you lock him up and throw away the key.
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Sakic is committed to beefing up his D-corps this summer.
Sakic still owns the tenth overall pick in the 2016 draft and is interested in adding Jakob Chychrun, Mikhail Sergachev or Olli Juolevi.
Sakic has also expressed his interest to qualify Avs big name RFAs Andreas Martinsen, Brandon Gormley (acquired in the Stefan Elliot trade), and Duncan Siemens, the 2011 11th overall pick acquired during the Erik Johnson trade.
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Chiarelli would be wise to to go all in on righty Kevin Shattenkirk from St. Louis Blues or Mark Pysyk of the Buffalo Sabres.