Ex-Oilers Defenseman Barrie Tells All About How Holland Tried to Acquire Erik Karlsson

PUBLICATION

Joshua Deeds
September 29, 2023 (8:21)

SHARE THIS STORY

Tyson Barrie has been traded before, as he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in 2020 and prior to that was a part of a package deal from Toronto to Colorado on July 1st, 2019.

Fast forward to 2023 and Barrie has been acquired by the Nashville Predators along with Reid Schaefer. The fan-favorite defenseman wasn't expecting Nashville, or Mattias Ekholm, which he was traded for.

«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.»

In a Mitts Off Podcast interview with Luke Gadzic, Barrie admitted being traded from the team was tough, but he knew he was trade bait the previous season as Holland warned him.

As a member of the Oilers squad that reached the Western Conference Finals in 2022-2023, he was concerned that he might be traded as the Oilers were rumored to be interested in Erik Karlsson, but those rumors quickly died down.

After failing to land Karlsson, Holland upgraded the blueline with Mattias Ekholm, the next best option. He would later help reinforce Evan Bouchard and strengthen the Oilers' defense.

The idea of a Norris Trophy-winning defenseman arriving in Oil Country was dead once Mattias Ekholm arrived.

A three-team trade later resulted in Karlsson joining the Pittsburgh Penguins. They were able to find a solid player in Ekholm, even though they sacrificed Barrie in the process.