«Leaving Edmonton was tough on me, for sure,» Barrie said. «I thought we made some steps the year before, went to the Conference Final. I felt like a big part of that, felt like I was having a pretty good year, and I didn't really think I was on the radar. I had heard some
Erik Karlsson rumours. I talked to [Holland], and he told me, 'Hey, that's kind of the only place you're going to go if we have a chance to get Erik Karlsson.' I said, 'Hey, I get it, no problem.' Something came together last minute, kind of caught me off guard.»