Oilers linked to signing former defenceman to tryout contract
Photo credit: Sportsnet
The Oilers defensive talent certainly took a hit when Philip Broberg walked to the St. Louis Blues on the offer sheet, and now the Oilers may be looking to add another puck-moving defenceman.
According to Dustin Nielson of TSN Radio, the Edmonton Oilers have had conversations with Tyson Barrie, considering him for a one-year contract or a PTO.
Barrie is now 33 years old and still a free agent after a very disappointing season with the Nashville Predators. Barrie's struggles defensively got worse in Nashville, leading him to play only 41 games last season and requesting a trade. GM Barry Trotz spoke explosively about Barrie's request and poor play with the Predators, potentially a reason why not many teams seem keen to take a flier on the aging offensive defenceman. However, the Oilers know he has a recent history of success with the team.
Barrie was a beloved player in the locker room, and was a valuable power play asset in his time with the Oilers - scoring over 40 points in all three seasons from 2020-2023. He doesn't have a quality defensive game, that isn't going to become a strength of his this point of his career, but Barrie could be a valuable addition to the depth defence.
The Oilers already have plenty of quality depth defenceman like Troy Stecher, Josh Brown, Ty Emberson, and more, but adding another before training camp on a PTO is rarely a bad idea - especially a fan favourite veteran player. Internal competition is always good, and injuries will always pop up. Even if you aren't a fan of Barrie, the Oilers couldn't do much better than signing him to a minimum contract.
All Barrie statistics: HockeyDB
| POLL | ||
22 AOUT | 225 ANSWERS Oilers linked to signing former defenceman to tryout contract Do you want Tyson Barrie to return to the Oilers? | ||
| Yes | 129 | 57.3 % |
| No | 76 | 33.8 % |
| See Results | 20 | 8.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
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