Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Tyson Barrie

Avalanche Notes: Sakic, Defense, Long-Term Deals

at CDT | by 7 Comments

Colorado Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic has been at the helm now for six years. His team has spiraled downward and hit rock bottom last year with a league’s worst 22-56-4 record, worth 48 points. To make matters worse, the team only has a handful of prospects and don’t seem to have a plan or path to take the franchise on.

According to NBC Sports’ Adam Gretz, Sakic is a likely candidate to be on the hotseat this season. The team’s lack of a proper path, constant roster questions that seem to be held up by a potential Matt Duchene trade that has never happened and a shortcoming of prospects seem to suggest that he may be the first general manager out the door this season. To make matters worse, the Avalanche have had the worst defense in the league for the past two years, according to Gretz, and have made no defensive changes this year.

  • The Avalanche still have quite a few questions when it comes to its roster. Although the team is currently negotiating with defenseman Nikita Zadorov, the Avalanche only have three defensemen on their roster, including Erik Johnson, Tyson Barrie and Mark Barberio, according to NBC Sports James O’Brien. With more than $11MM in cap space still remaining, Colorado has the ability to acquire more players and depth. However, considering their lack of depth, using draft picks to trade for a player makes little sense. That leaves signing leftover free agents to short-term deals, but there are very few defensive free agents of note. Trading Matt Duchene may be their best way to fill in some of those holes.
  • O’Brien also points out that, on a positive note, that the Avalanche have very few long-term deals, which should give the team quite a bit of flexibility. Only Nathan MacKinnon ($6.3MM AAV till 2022-23), Gabriel Landeskog ($5.57MM AAV till 2020-21), Carl Soderberg ($4.75MM AAV till 2019-20), Johnson ($6MM AAV till 2022-23) and Barrie ($5.5MM AAV till 2019-20) are locked up for the next three years.

Duchene Tops List Of Likely Trade Candidates

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Count Colorado Avalanche’s Matt Duchene as the most likely player to be traded in the offseason. TSN released its Trade Bait list Saturday with Duchene, Montreal’s Alex Galchenyuk and Ottawa defenseman Dion Phaneuf leading the list of players who are likely to find themselves a new home for the 2017-18 season. A Duchene trade has been rumored since before the regular season ended and been talked about by most NHL teams so far. The Avalanche, who finished the regular season with the worst record in the league, feel this might be the best time to move the 26-year-old center after a disappointing season. He scored 18 goals and had 23 assists last year, a far cry from his 2015-16 season in which he tallied 30 goals and 29 assists in a breakout season. Much of the belief is that he lacks quality line mates around him and would thrive on a different team. While the Avalanche failed to move him before the draft, it is considered inevitable that a trade happens.

Galchenyuk is considered expendable after the Montreal Canadiens acquired Jonathan Drouin on June 15. Just like Duchene, Galchenyuk scored 17 goals in 61 games, a far cry from his 30-goal output in 2015-16. However, the Canadiens are looking to bolster their defense and feel the 23-year-old might be the best path to do that. The Minnesota Wild are often suggested as a good match for the Canadiens, but many teams wouldn’t mind getting the third-overall pick in 2013. Phaneuf, who refused to waive his no-movement clause before the expansion draft, therefore forcing the Senators to expose and lose Marc Methot (coincidentally #4 on the list), is still expected to be moved. The 32-year-old had a solid season and his trade value might be at its highest. However, the franchise will have to convince teams to accept the remaining four years on his contract at $7MM a season.

Of the 15 players on the list, the Vegas Golden Knights have three players (all defensemen) on the list, including Methot, Luca Sbisa (#8), and Alexei Emelin (#12). The Avalanche have two players on the list with Duchene at the top as well as defenseman Tyson Barrie (#7). The Minnesota Wild are the only other team with multiple players on the list with Marco Scandella (#5) and Mathew Dumba (#10), although it is believed that the Wild will likely just trade one of its young defenseman and keep the other. Scandella is the more likely of the two to get traded.

For a full list, you can find it here.

Tyson Barrie Available In “Hockey Deal”

at CDT | by 3 Comments

As rumors swirl around defensemen all over the league, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was talking about the various available players on CHED 630 in Edmonton. Friedman says that he has been told Tyson Barrie of the Avalanche is available in a “hockey deal.” That would mean something akin to the Drouin-Sergachev deal from yesterday, one that helps both teams instead of just a contract dump.

Barrie signed a four-year extension just a year ago, one that could have contributed to Patrick Roy’s departure before the season. Earning $5.5MM per season, Barrie’s numbers took a dip this season like everyone else on the Colorado roster. The smooth skating defender still put up 38 points and was a positive possession player, but recorded a league-worst -34 rating on the year.

Set to turn 26 this summer, Barrie is starting to look like he won’t be able to help the next iteration of the Avalanche very much, meaning getting as much as possible for him before he hits free agency would be a wise move for Joe Sakic and company. Whether that high point is now, or after a potential bounce-back 2017-18 season (when the Avalanche should be better simply because of how historically bad they were this year) is something the team will have to decide.

A right-shot defenseman capable of putting up 50 points is basically on the wish list of every team in the NHL, meaning there would be plenty of suitors should the Avalanche be serious about moving him. What exactly would be wanted in return in a “hockey deal” is unclear, as Colorado should be stockpiling picks and prospects, not anything that would help them this season. Alas, the desire to make the playoffs likely runs through their blood just a year removed from their respectable 2015-16 season, but making a deal for a veteran winger like Jordan Eberle (who has been tenuously linked to the Avalanche) would be a mistake.

Rangers Look To Add Core Piece

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

According a column written this morning by the New York Post’s Larry Brooks, it seems quite apparent that the Rangers are not satisfied with their current roster. After a second-round ousting at the hands of the Senators, big changes seems inevitable in New York. The primary concern of course is on defense, where they will look to unload one of Marc Staal and Dan Girardi. As of yet, however, Brooks says neither has been asked to waive their no-movement-clause in preparation for the expansion draft. Management may yet be hopeful Vegas will prove benevolent and claim one of the albatross contracts, but the more likely scenario still remains a buyout. What happens in the wake of a Girardi or Staal departure is what management is seemingly focused on.

Winnipeg’s Jacob Trouba has been linked to trade rumors since his contract negotiations dragged into the regular season. Rangers GM Jeff Gorton is apparently quite interested, but nothing new has surfaced in those preliminary trade talks. Although not mentioned in the article, the Wild are likely to move a defenseman and Mathew Dumba could fit the bill for New York. Minnesota would be looking for an offensive player in return. Brooks confirms the speculation that Colorado’s Tyson Barrie is on the team’s radar. It’s unclear what the Rangers would offer that would truly entice the Avalanche, as there are undoubtedly many suitors for Barrie’s services. Even more confusing, the Rangers are apparently in committed efforts to acquire Nathan MacKinnon. I still see MacKinnon moving as a near impossibility for anything short of a king’s ransom. And if the Rangers are incessantly inquiring about MacKinnon, it could theoretically derail the Barrie conversation. Their need for a right-handed, mobile defenseman has to trump all other desires at the moment.

In terms of who could be on the way out, Rick Nash is always a viable candidate. He will be entering the final year of his contract worth $7.8 MM, and at 32, he still has a bit of trade value (especially if salary is retained).  Mats Zuccarello was arguably the best Rangers forward last season, but he’ll be due a pay day in two seasons. Considering that Mika Zibanejad, Jimmy Vesey, Kevin Hayes, and J.T. Miller all will need new contracts before then, will he be truly be worth a core player’s contract? They could combine two of those aforementioned younger assets to get their right-handed D, but then they would take a monumental step back in terms of offensive depth. Whatever route they decide to go, one has to imagine that picks and prospects will be a huge part of the final arrangement.

Ultimately, the Rangers want a dynamic, top-line forward who can create offense on his own. However, they absolutely need to fill a gap on an aging defense if they hope to remain in playoff contention. If they can add both, it would be a total boon for Gorton and management. But in a competitive trade market, it seems wise to temper expectations.

Latest From Insider Trading: Duchene, Barrie, Oilers

at CDT | by 2 Comments

In the latest edition of Insider Trading from TSN (video link), Bob McKenzie reports that Avalanche forward Matt Duchene is the “player most likely” to be traded this summer.  Duchene has long been linked to the rumor mill throughout this past season but GM Joe Sakic’s asking price was too high to get an in-season deal done.

The 26 year old is coming off a down year with Colorado, recording 18 goals and 23 assists in 77 games, his lowest full-season output since 2011-12.  He has two years remaining on his current contract with a cap hit of $6MM before being eligible for unrestricted free agency.  The current free agent crop is lacking in impact top six forwards so despite a high price, there should be several teams interested in his services.

While McKenzie wouldn’t guarantee a deal gets done during the offseason, he classifies the situation as one where both the Avalanche and Duchene are hoping for a fresh start.

Other notes to pass along from the segment (although the full video is worth a watch):

  • The belief is that Sakic is still coveting a top blueliner in order to let Duchene go. Darren Dreger notes that part of the reason for that is to potentially allow Colorado to then move defenseman Tyson Barrie.  The 25 year old is a strong producer from the back end although his play in his own end has been a concern for them for a while now.  Barrie has three years left on his deal at a $5.5MM cap charge and Dreger believes it will take a top draft pick or a combination of picks and prospects to get a deal done.
  • While some expected that Edmonton’s Connor McDavid would see his extension for 2018-19 done before the team tries to deal with pending RFA Leon Draisaitl but Dreger reports that the Oilers would like to get both done at the same time. These two contracts will be the top priority in Edmonton this summer and considering the dollars it will take to get both done, they would undoubtedly like to get those contracts done sooner than later so they have a better sense of their salary cap situation before getting too deep into free agency or the trade market.
  • On that note, Dreger suggests that Oilers winger Jordan Eberle will “definitely get traded” this summer. Clearing his $6MM cap hit for two more years would ensure that Edmonton has plenty of money to get McDavid and Draisaitl’s new contracts done.  Earlier this week, GM Peter Chiarelli stated that he doesn’t think that they necessarily have to make a cap-clearing move this offseason but that they will have to at some point in the next couple of seasons.  Like Duchene, Eberle is a top six forward in a market that doesn’t have many of them available so the timing may be right for Chiarelli to do a deal now.

Morning Notes: Eaves, Barrie, Islanders

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

With the Anaheim Ducks winning game seven last night against the Edmonton Oilers, breaking their recent string of losses and heading to the Western Conference Final, the Dallas Stars also celebrated. The Stars will now enjoy an extra first-round pick thanks to the deal that sent Patrick Eaves to California at the trade deadline. Eaves didn’t even play in the back half of the series, but had suited up for enough games to trigger the clause.

The Stars will now hold the 3rd pick after seeing their card selected in the lottery and another near the end of the round (depending on who wins the Stanley Cup). While the late-round pick may be dismissed in what has perhaps mistakenly been classified a weak draft, it is still a 30-spot improvement over where they stood a day ago. The Stars will head into the draft with a ton of currency that they could use to make moves, or select two new prospects to help lengthen their competitive window.

  • In one of the weirdest stories of the year, Tyson Barrie will miss the remainder of the World Championships due to a laceration he suffered while wrestling in his hotel room. According to Darren Dreger of TSN, the cut is severe enough to not risk anything in this tournament, meaning he’ll shut it down completely. In his place, Chris Lee will suit up against France before Colton Parayko joins them in the next few days. Lee has played abroad for the past seven years after several years in the AHL, but had a tremendous year in the KHL this season. With 65 points in 60 games, the 36-year old put up the most productive season of his hockey career. He’ll get a chance on the world stage before Parayko likely figures in for the rest of the tournament.
  • The New York Islanders will welcome Luke Richardson to their coaching staff for next season according to Arthur Staple of Newsday. The long-time NHL defender will join Doug Weight behind the bench and try to impart some of the knowledge he gained while playing more than 1400 games in the league. Richardson had been the head coach of the Binghamton Senators from 2012-16 before mutually parting ways. He’ll presumably take over some of the responsibility of coaching the defenseman in New York, a group that may look a little different after the expansion draft and free agency.

Injury Updates: Klefbom, Ducks, Blues, Barrie, Rieder, Schmaltz

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Edmonton will get back a key player on their blueline tonight as they get set for their Game Seven matchup against Anaheim as Oscar Klefbom has declared himself “100 percent ready to go tonight”, writes Marc Ciampa of the Oilers’ team site.  He missed the last game due to an upper body issue.

On the other side, Ciampa notes the Ducks will have center Nate Thompson in their lineup.  His status was in question after the team recalled Sam Carrick from AHL San Diego on Tuesday.  Defenseman Kevin Bieksa’s situation isn’t as clear though, as head coach Randy Carlyle is listing him as a game-time decision.  Bieksa suffered a lower body in the series opener against the Oilers and has been out of the lineup since then.

Other injury notes from around the hockey world:

  • Although there was speculation that Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko needed surgery, that isn’t the case, notes Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. While the forward noted that he has been playing through an undisclosed injury, he expects it to heal over the coming weeks with rest.  On a similar note, Alex Steen’s broken toe that he played through also won’t require going under the knife.
  • Colorado blueliner Tyson Barrie will miss the rest of the World Championships with a lower body, Team Canada announced via Twitter.  The exact nature of the injury is unknown but the Avalanche added (Twitter link) that he is expected to fully recover for his offseason workouts.  The defenseman was off to a torrid start on the scoresheet, leading all defenders in scoring with seven points through four games.  Although the Canadians won’t be able to replace him on the roster, they will certainly benefit from the late addition of Colton Parayko, who was added into a vacant roster slot yesterday.
  • Coyotes winger Tobias Rieder also will miss the remainder of the Worlds after sustaining a lower body injury against Russia on Monday. Fortunately for Arizona, the injury isn’t believed to be too serious, reports ArizonaSports’ Craig Morgan.  Rieder is expected to undergo further testing in the coming days.  It’s the second straight year that a lower body injury has ended his tournament early as back in 2016, he suffered a knee injury against Canada in the preliminary round.
  • Still with the Worlds, USA (and Chicago) forward Nick Schmaltz may be ready to return to the lineup on Saturday against Latvia, notes NHL.com’s Brian Hedger (Twitter link). He was also injured on Monday on a hit from Sweden’s Gabriel Landeskog and was held out of their game against Italy today, which they won 3-0.

Course Adjustment For Colorado

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Colorado needs to determine the road ahead for its franchise. The unexpected plummet to the 4th overall pick in the draft lottery did not help matters, to be sure, but the Avalanche need more than a Nolan Patrick to catapult them back into contention. The team has lacked identity for years and a team philosophy is hard to isolate. The team finished a league worst 22 wins, good for an embarrassingly bad 48 points. They were not expected to be serious cup contenders coming into the year, but this is a team that had veteran scorers and a decent goaltending duo to back up their young forward core. Yet they finished in dead last in both offensive and defensive categories – 1.74 goals for per 60, and 2.93 goals against. With such an incredible disparity it’s actually impressive they won as many contests as they did.

GM Joe Sakic needs to determine which pieces of his core (if any) are worth keeping. It seems probable that the team could consider trading away its captain in Gabriel Landeskog, and the case for doing so is strong. He potted only 18 goals and 15 assists this season, his 5th full campaign – at the exorbitant price of $5.5 MM (which will become $6 MM next season). The center has never developed into the offensive threat the franchise had hoped when he was selected 2nd overall in 2011. His point totals have dropped for the second season in a row. However, his Corsi For % was actually his career best at 52.8, and on a team that bled goals and chances, he performed admirably in his own end. Whether he is worth his deal is certainly a less pressing issue than stopping the bleeding. Unless an over-payment comes along the Avalanche would be wise to stick out at least another season with the still-promising left wing.

Speedy forward Matt Duchene is two years older, and fared only marginally better, with 18 goals and 23 assists. Duchene is not physically imposing a 5’11”, and he is more effective on the rush. His speed and versatility are his greatest assets. Duchene’s skating can burn defenders and his skating is among the tops in the league. When considering that the quick and fleet-footed Nathan MacKinnon is also on the team, it seems that Colorado might want to double down on the speed aspect of their negligible identity. Duchene would almost certainly draw more interest than Landeskog, as the forward did pot 30 goals just the previous season. Although the talk seems distant now, there was considerable conversation following the 2009 draft that the Islanders would have done better to draft Duchene than John Tavares. This is a player who can make a meaningful difference on the playmaking side of things, but saw a drastic drop off in play. Trading Duchene seems the most logical option, but his departure will only leave the center ice position more lackluster.

The Avalanche could toy with moving RFA center Mikhail Grigorenko, or RFA defenseman Patrick Wiercioch, but the returns after last season would be marginal at best. One can only assume that Sakicc attempted to unload forwards like Blake Comeau ($2.5 MM), and now UFA defenseman Fedor Tyutin to no avail. Thankfully the well-worn Jarome Iginla was shipped off to Los Angeles and there are indeed older players coming off the books. The 35 year-old Rene Bourque and 32 year-old John Mitchell will both be UFAs and will have difficulty finding work next season in the league.

Ultimately, the problem for the Avalanche wasn’t that their stars didn’t produce, although that certainly didn’t help their goal totals. Their team was filled with washed-up veterans and outside of the big 3 on offense there was really no threat to score. On the backend, once Erik Johnson went down, the rest of the defense was not nearly good enough to keep up. Tyson Barrie is the only player who should feel remotely safe, and the young RFA Nikita Zadorov is likely to hang around. Francois Beauchemin is not the defender he was even two seasons ago, and if he could somehow be traded it would help performance substantially.

Trading away the #4 selection is usually an unthinkable notion with a team at this stage of a rebuild, but if they can move it for substantial help on defense or on the wing, it should be considered. Especially considering how mediocre this draft class is, it might turn out to be a prudent maneuver. One of Landeskog or Duchene seems likely to depart, but without a king’s ransom coming back, it’s not likely to alter long-term prospects for the franchise. Colorado simply needs to draft better, develop better, and find a coach with the structure that a young, struggling squad will need. If they could make a serious pitch to Karl Alzner this off-season, or perhaps even Thomas Vanek on the wing, they would be in a better position to compete on a nightly basis. Their offensive stars are unlikely to be quite as dreadful in points production yet again. Perhaps the most positive aspect of the upcoming season will be the infusion of youth from the minor leagues, and the ditching of dead weight up and down the lineup. Sakic will need to provide stability for the franchise and perhaps even display some patience rather than dumping a slumping offensive talent for a lackluster package. Although fans may wish for change at any cost, ditching their core players for scraps is not likely the best way forward. Whatever course Colorado decides to take, fans around the league will be watching with interest this summer.

Western Notes: MacKinnon, Barrie, Shipachyov

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

They may not have won the lottery despite having the best chance, but if there is a consolation prize about their franchise, it’s that their players seem to be thriving at the preliminary round of the 2017 IIHF World Championships. Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon of Team Canada got into the act during this morning’s 7-2 blowout victory over Slovenia with a hat trick and an assist. Teammate Tyson Barrie scored four points of his own, including a goal to continue a successful string of Avalanche performances so far.

The Avalanche have eight players and a potential prospect at the World Championships, including MacKinnon, Barrie, Matt Duchene and goaltender Calvin Pickard who play for Canada (2-0-0-0), Gabriel Landeskog and Carl Soderberg who play for Sweden, Mikko Rantanen who plays for Finland and J.T. Compher who is playing for the USA. Prospect Andrei Mirinov is playing for Russia.

While it’s still early in the championships, the Avalanche have to be thrilled with their players’ performance. Friday, Pickard got the win in goal after allowing just one goal in Canada’s win over the Czech Republic. Barrie had a goal and assist in that game as well, giving him six points in just two games played so far. Rantanen had an assist in Finland’s victory over Belarus Friday, while Landeskog also picked up an assist for Sweden in their first game on Friday as well.

The Avalanche have high hopes that MacKinnon, 21, who was the first overall pick from the 2013 draft, can take his game to a new level after four solid, but unspectacular seasons. He finished last season with 16 goals and 37 assists for 53 points.

  • CapFriendly tweeted the breakdown of Vadim Shipachyov’s contract breakdown with the Las Vegas Golden Knights. It will be two years with a AAV of 4.5MM. In 2017-18, the veteran will receive a $3MM base salary and a $2MM signing bonus. Then in 2018-19, Shipachyov will receive a $4MM base salary.

World Championship Updates

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Terry Frei of the Denver Post tweeted a list of Colorado Avalanche players that will play for their respective countries in the 2017 World Hockey Championships. In addition to the previously-announced selections of Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene, Frei states that defenseman Tyson Barrie and goaltender Calvin Pickard will join Team Canada. Colorado forward Mikko Rantanen will play for Finland, and forward J.T. Compher will play for the United States.

Mikko Rantanen has a decorated international career, earning a gold medal as captain of the Finnish World Junior team in 2016, and a silver medal in the World Championships that same year. Overall, Rantanen has 20G and 22A in 60 international games.

J.T. Compher’s addition displays Team USA’s depth issues, as the American forward only has 21 games of NHL experience. Compher did captain the University of Michigan’s D1 Mens Hockey team last season—scoring 16G and 47A in the process.

Finally, the Vegas Golden Knights will be hoping that Calvin Pickard gets some significant ice time after the Avalanche announced that—barring any trade—Pickard will be exposed in the NHL Expansion Draft. Pickard played in 50 games this season after Semyon Varlamov went down with a season-ending injury.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top