The Toronto Maple Leafs would like to make a deep run into the playoffs this season, but they haven’t been playing well lately. Their recent loss to the Ottawa Senators was overshadowed by an incident between Ridly Greig and Morgan Reilly, but losing out on two points to a team that has been struggling in a big way should sound some alarms. The Maple Leafs sit tied for the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with the Detroit Red Wings with a four-point cushion on the New York Islanders with 56 points. While the Maple Leafs have a strong lineup with one month left until the trade deadline, it would be surprising if they didn’t try to pursue some upgrades on their blue line.
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While they have some options heading into the deadline, one player who will surely be traded this season is Nashville Predators’ defender Tyson Barrie. Back in December, the Predators permitted Barrie to speak with other teams in hopes of facilitating a trade. He spent one season with the Maple Leafs for his 2019-20 campaign where he scored five goals and added 34 assists for 39 points through 70 games. While he could be an upgrade on the right side of the blue line for the Maple Leafs overall, his defensive game isn’t great and a trade would be quite complex.
As seen in the above model, Barrie has an extremely positive impact on the offensive side of the game, but his defensive game needs some improvement. His stat line proves how much of an impact he has offensively and he could be a valuable bottom-pairing or seventh defender at the right price. He doesn’t play better than Timothy Liljegren, Jake McCabe, or William Lagesson on the defensive side of the game but he could provide some veteran stability and some internal competition which could elevate the play of everyone in the lineup, as well as give the Maple Leafs the chance to run 11 forwards and seven defencemen should they choose to do so.
Who Is Tyson Barrie & What Would It Take To Bring Him In?
Barrie is a 32-year-old defender from Victoria, British Columbia who stands 5-foot-11, 196 pounds, and was drafted in the third round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche at 64th overall. He made a name for himself playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Kelowna Rockets where during his draft year, scored 12 goals and added 40 assists for 52 points through 68 games. He returned to the Rockets the following season and scored 19 goals adding 53 assists for 72 points through 63 games, and in his final season scored 11 goals and added 47 assists for 58 points through 54 games and was named the captain.
Barrie bounced between the NHL and the American Hockey League (AHL) for the first few seasons of his professional hockey career, before breaking through in the 2013-14 season where he scored 13 goals and added 25 assists for 38 points through 64 games. Over parts of 13 seasons, he has scored 109 goals and added 393 assists for 502 points which comes out to a 0.63 points-per-game average. In that time, he has spent time with the Predators, Maple Leafs, Avalanche, and Edmonton Oilers and has established himself as a strong power-play quarterback who is a bit one-dimensional.
A trade for Barrie would be a complex one to pull off, but the Maple Leafs should inquire and try to make it work for the right price. His $4.5 million cap hit makes this deal tough to make work with the Maple Leafs’ cap situation, but I’m sure there will be a third team willing to take on 25 percent of Barrie’s contract for a draft pick for the remainder of the season, as the Minnesota Wild did so last season.
Should the Maple Leafs find a third team to make a trade for Barrie work, the new cap hit could be brought down to $1.125 million which is much more affordable if the Predators also retain 50 percent. Theoretically, a deal for Barrie looks like the Maple Leafs acquiring him in exchange for Nick Robertson and Nikita Grebyonkin, as well as sending a 2025 fifth-round pick to a third team to take on 25 percent of his salary.
This would be the right price for the Maple Leafs and would give them some added depth heading into the postseason. I don’t expect Barrie to be the first name on their list of trade targets by any means, but he could be someone they turn to if they lose out on Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin. He won’t cost a lot to bring in because of his issues internally with the Predators, and his comfortability with the Maple Leafs makes this a possible fit.
Why Would This Make Sense For The Maple Leafs?
The Maple Leafs have a strong enough team to make a run in the postseason. However, their defensive group is their weakness. Barrie would add some stability to the depth chart and while he won’t be their first choice on the trade market, he has proven to be a solid performer in the playoffs as seen in his time with the Oilers, so they should be inquiring about his price at the bare minimum. His veteran presence is also something the team should be looking at as a positive addition.
Hopefully, the Maple Leafs can make some solid additions to their roster and make a deep run into the playoffs. There is under a month remaining until the 2024 Trade Deadline and they require some additions if they want a chance at winning their first Stanley Cup since 1967. They would surely prefer to make the playoffs in one of the top three spots in the Atlantic Division rather than a wild card spot, so hopefully, they start to get a bit more active on the trade front over the next couple of weeks.