Insider addresses some of the chatter surrounding a possible reunion between the Leafs and Tyson Barrie
The Toronto Maple Leafs are always looking to shore up their back-end and whenever any defenseman becomes available, the Leafs always seem to be in on the action.
They missed out on Nikita Zadorov because they couldn't get Calgary to bite on salary retention, they've been in on Chris Tanev, Sean Walker has drawn some interest, and now, people are wondering if Tyson Barrie could potentially make his return, being one of the primary right shot defensemen available.
The offensive defenseman was scratched on Saturday ahead of Nashville's game against the New York Rangers because the team had given him permission to seek out a trade. Playing on an expiring contract for a team that is in the midst of a rebuild generally spells disaster.
Elliotte Friedman took to his podcast earlier today to talk about the idea of Barrie coming back to Toronto and it seems that it's most likely not in the cards after how things went the first time around:
Barrie scored 39 points in 70 games during the COVID-interrupted season of 2019-20 but his defensive miscues brought about a lot of misery from the media and the fan base.
The Maple Leafs are also in desperate need of someone who is more defensive minded since they already have a few players who can anchor their power play.
Friedman did point out a lot of players around the league are rooting for Barrie as he looks to get his career back on a roll. He's a very popular player and someone you want in your locker room for a variety of reasons:
I know last year when the Predators and the Oilers made that trade, the Oilers had to include Barrie to make it work but one of the things they were talking about internally was there's gonna be players on this team that are not gonna be thrilled that Barrie is gonna get dealt..."
I don't think there are many within Leafs Nation right now that could stomach Barrie coming back to Toronto. He currently affects the salary cap at a $4.5 million dollar hit and even if Nashville decides to retain half, it's not the move the Leafs should be making when there are bigger fish in the sea - and since they're always tight on money.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 4 | 741 ANSWERS Insider addresses some of the chatter surrounding a possible reunion between the Leafs and Tyson Barrie Do you think the Leafs should take another crack at Tyson Barrie at 50% retained? | ||
| Yes | 155 | 20.9 % |
| No | 586 | 79.1 % |
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