Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast – The Leafs wanted both Zadorov and Tanev episode, on Nashville Predators defenseman Tyson Barrie and him being able to talk to other teams about a potential fit.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Marek: ‘Okay, so another blue liner we should probably talk about as well. I don’t know whether this sort of fits what Brad Treliving is looking for but he talked about him on Saturday. And that is Tyson Barrie.
So Barrie has been given permission him and his agent, Bayne Bettinger, to talk to other teams. What’s happening with the Nashville blue line?
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Friedman: “So if you look at the Predators, we’re starting to see a bit of a changing of the guard on their roster. You know, for one thing, Barrie’s a UFA after this year. So it sounds to me obviously, like he’s not part of their long-term plans.
But if you look at their blue line right now, they’ve got this Spencer Stastney, who they really seem to like. He’s a young player, and he looks like he’s got a role on that team, as long as he continues playing as well as he’s playing. You know, Luke Shenn, they just signed to a long-term deal. Dante Fabbro has been a healthy scratch and (Alexandre) Carrier’s been injured.
But you know, also to their like, there have been some rumblings that they want to change their blue line a bit. I mean, obviously, (Roman) Josi is not going anywhere. They’ve got (Ryan) McDonough. They’ve got Schenn signed. I think they really like the size of Jeremy Lauzon, he plays a tough game. You know, Barry Trotz, old Western Hockey League D. He tends to like that kind of thing. They seem to really like this Stastney.
Like I think Barrie, Carrier and Fabbro, all of those players might have some questions about their future. Maybe one or two of them goes. Maybe one or two of them stays, but I don’t think they’re all safe.
So as you mentioned, I found it out on Saturday morning, making my calls that Nashville had given permission for Barrie and his agent, as you mentioned, to speak to teams that kind of got around the league. I heard it on, on Saturday morning and it was confirmed.
You know, I don’t know if Barrie and Toronto are a great fit. Number one, I don’t think that’s the kind of player they’re looking for. And number two, Toronto was a chamber of horrors for Barrie the last time he came here it just, it just unfortunately wasn’t a good mix.
But you know, there’s teams out there who need someone who can score and Barry will be highly motivated because he’s playing for his his next deal. It’s, you know, I have to say I was talking to one player on Sunday. And he said to me, he’s really rooting for Barrie because Barrie is a really popular guy. That if you ask players around the league, who one of the more fun guys is, one of the players that you know really goes out of his way to make life good on new players and we’ll come to a team or a player who might be a bit quiet on a team. Barrie is a guy who has that reputation.
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I know last year when the, when the Predators and the Oilers made that trade, you know, the Oilers had to include Barrie to make it work. But one of the things they were talking about internally, while they were going through the motions was, there going to be players on this team and we’re not thrilled that Barrie’s gonna get dealt. And ultimately you do what you think is right and (Mattias) Ekholm was, was what that team needed. But there are going to be guys in the league rooting for Barrie to end up in a place that’s good for him because he’s a popular guy.