Update: "Signed" -RFA Tyson Barrie....what does he sign for?

[jammer2]

   The Lanche's most prolific defensemen and anchor of their top pp is a RFA. The question is, what does he sign for, what is true worth in today's NHL? 

 

  For me, there are 2 answers here. His salary largley depends on whether the Ave's sign him to a long term deal, or (most likely) a short "show me it's for real" bridge deal.

 

  He had a breakout year in 2013-14 season. He posted 38 pts on the year and looked solid heading up the Ave's top pp unit. He just turned 23 less than a month ago....he has nowhere to go but up, so IMHO, the Ave's will have to shell out some "potential" money, whether they like it or not.

 

 I'm thinking a 2 year deal for 8 mill will be in and around his final salary. A bit pricey considering he put up respectable point totals for the first time in his career last year. Paying a guy 4 mill who has only done it once before is risky, but the market for young promising pp qb's is one that pays, even overpays for guys with this kinda skill set. The Ave's will point to Del Zotto's fall from grace, claiming he won't be a guaranteed factor in their offense. Barrie's agent will point to stars that blossomed in their 3 and 4th year in the NHL....I think his agent has more precedent than the Ave's stance, thus the 4 mill a year figure I've tossed about.

 

 http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=99406

[Hatrik98]

I'm wondering if the knee injury has any effect of the amount and/or the term of a deal. I think it would be a huge mistake not to lock Barrie in. They have a great core of young talent.

[jammer2]

I think it would be a huge mistake not to lock Barrie in.

 

 My line of thinking exactly. This guy is an offensive dynamo. Players like that will be highly sought after. We all know he will not be poached if allowed to reach RFA status....but....the more the Ave's wait, the more he will pile up the stats and make things much more expensive for them in the long run. I see this guy being a top 10 d-man for points, maybe as soon as this year....his ceiling is pretty high. The Habs learned the hard way, offensive d-men will get paid LARGE by arbitrators.....so something to mull over.

[J0e Th0rnton]

I am not as Sold on Tyson Barrie as everyone else. Yes, he had a good year. But overall, not sold he is a top PP quarterback/triggerman. The team around him had a lot to do with his numbers, much like Demers on the Sharks

 

I vote for the bridge contract.

[yave1964]

@J0e Th0rnton

Agreed up to a point, he kind of came from nowhere (and helped anchor the blue line of one of my fantasy teams, lol) but unlike San Jose who has a Vlasic and Burns, the Avalanche had a positively wretched defense the year before only scoring 4 goals in 48 games from the back end. Just downright bad.

IMHO when he got knocked out of the series against the Wild by a cheap shot by Matt Cooke, it effectively ended the series. Mackinnon? great player but they have forwards, they didn't have a d-man capable of moving the puck. For God sake, they played guys like Benoit and Guenin most of the year.

So yes I am skeptical, but you gotta pay him, they have nobody else who can do the things he can. Without him last year, more than any player on the team (save Varlamov) they would have had no chance of winning the division. Pay him and hope that he can repeat or even exceed what he had done last year.

[J0e Th0rnton]

@J0e Th0rnton

Agreed up to a point, he kind of came from nowhere (and helped anchor the blue line of one of my fantasy teams, lol) but unlike San Jose who has a Vlasic and Burns, the Avalanche had a positively wretched defense the year before only scoring 4 goals in 48 games from the back end. Just downright bad.

IMHO when he got knocked out of the series against the Wild by a cheap shot by Matt Cooke, it effectively ended the series. Mackinnon? great player but they have forwards, they didn't have a d-man capable of moving the puck. For God sake, they played guys like Benoit and Guenin most of the year.

So yes I am skeptical, but you gotta pay him, they have nobody else who can do the things he can. Without him last year, more than any player on the team (save Varlamov) they would have had no chance of winning the division. Pay him and hope that he can repeat or even exceed what he had done last year.

Not a fan of Erik Johnson? If there was a single Dman I could import from the Avs to San Jose, he would be my choice.

 

But yeah, to an extent I agree. Pay him. I am just not sold on him becoming a top Offensive Dman. His PP production was not great and did not add a dimension they needed. At ES, he was standout on the team, but with sheltered icetime and offensive zone starts.

[Hatrik98]

Not a fan of Erik Johnson? If there was a single Dman I could import from the Avs to San Jose, he would be my choice.

 

But yeah, to an extent I agree. Pay him. I am just not sold on him becoming a top Offensive Dman. His PP production was not great and did not add a dimension they needed. At ES, he was standout on the team, but with sheltered icetime and offensive zone starts.[/quote Eric Johnson really hasn't produced. I think Barrie definitely has the potential of being a Quarterback on the PP. He is young. I think he is just gonna get better. He does have a cannon too. I still think they need more than EJ, Stuart, and Barrie on the PP. Although the Avs could go 4 forwards and one blue liner .

[J0e Th0rnton]

Eric Johnson really hasn't produced. I think Barrie definitely has the potential of being a Quarterback on the PP. He is young. I think he is just gonna get better. He does have a cannon too. I still think they need more than EJ, Stuart, and Barrie on the PP. Although the Avs could go 4 forwards and one blue liner .

Stuart?

On the PP? I rofl good sir.

 

Stuart is dead weight with no offensive or puckmoving upside anymore. He fell off a cliff. He was easily the worst Dman on the Sharks the past season and not good in the half season before. Justin Braun absolutely carried that pairing.

 

Shark fans everywhere were amazed we could get a 2nd rounder for him and consider the trade addition by subtraction.

 

EJ at least played 23 minutes a night against the oppositions tougher opponents with Jan Hejda as his partner. Hejda is not quite as useless as Stuart, but he is close these days. I feel bad for the Avs fans who think Stuart is going to help their defense(Seems to be a common assumption by them) when he is going to drag whatever pairing he is with down. Stuart can block sots on the PK and clear the crease, but he is not mobile, nor does he make smart decisions with the puck.

 

Barrie was definitely the best offensive Dman on the Avs, but he was heavily sheltered too. Guenin was not a great partner obviously, but Holden is turning out to be a diamond in the rough for the Avs. They already extended him till 2018. not bad for an undrafted kid.

 

Losing Andre Benoit hurts them more than they know. He is not great, but he is waaaaay better than Hejda or Stuart.

 

Their pairings next season look like.....

Hejda/Johnson

Holden/Barrie

Stuart/Guenin?

Wilson?

 

I suspect they might try to pair Stuart with Barrie to move the more puck able Holden to another pairing, and it could be ugly.

 

All in all, their defense is the weakest link. If Varlamov cannot replicate his performance, the Avs are going to struggle.

[Hatrik98]

Stuart?

On the PP? I rofl good sir.

 

Stuart is dead weight with no offensive or puckmoving upside anymore. He fell off a cliff. He was easily the worst Dman on the Sharks the past season and not good in the half season before. Justin Braun absolutely carried that pairing.

 

Shark fans everywhere were amazed we could get a 2nd rounder for him and consider the trade addition by subtraction.

 

EJ at least played 23 minutes a night against the oppositions tougher opponents with Jan Hejda as his partner. Hejda is not quite as useless as Stuart, but he is close these days. I feel bad for the Avs fans who think Stuart is going to help their defense(Seems to be a common assumption by them) when he is going to drag whatever pairing he is with down. Stuart can block sots on the PK and clear the crease, but he is not mobile, nor does he make smart decisions with the puck.

 

Barrie was definitely the best offensive Dman on the Avs, but he was heavily sheltered too. Guenin was not a great partner obviously, but Holden is turning out to be a diamond in the rough for the Avs. They already extended him till 2018. not bad for an undrafted kid.

 

Losing Andre Benoit hurts them more than they know. He is not great, but he is waaaaay better than Hejda or Stuart.

 

Their pairings next season look like.....

Hejda/Johnson

Holden/Barrie

Stuart/Guenin?

Wilson?

 

I suspect they might try to pair Stuart with Barrie to move the more puck able Holden to another pairing, and it could be ugly.

 

All in all, their defense is the weakest link. If Varlamov cannot replicate his performance, the Avs are going to struggle.

Stuart?

On the PP? I rofl good sir.

 

Stuart is dead weight with no offensive or puckmoving upside anymore. He fell off a cliff. He was easily the worst Dman on the Sharks the past season and not good in the half season before. Justin Braun absolutely carried that pairing.

 

Shark fans everywhere were amazed we could get a 2nd rounder for him and consider the trade addition by subtraction.

 

EJ at least played 23 minutes a night against the oppositions tougher opponents with Jan Hejda as his partner. Hejda is not quite as useless as Stuart, but he is close these days. I feel bad for the Avs fans who think Stuart is going to help their defense(Seems to be a common assumption by them) when he is going to drag whatever pairing he is with down. Stuart can block sots on the PK and clear the crease, but he is not mobile, nor does he make smart decisions with the puck.

 

Barrie was definitely the best offensive Dman on the Avs, but he was heavily sheltered too. Guenin was not a great partner obviously, but Holden is turning out to be a diamond in the rough for the Avs. They already extended him till 2018. not bad for an undrafted kid.

 

Losing Andre Benoit hurts them more than they know. He is not great, but he is waaaaay better than Hejda or Stuart.

 

Their pairings next season look like.....

Hejda/Johnson

Holden/Barrie

Stuart/Guenin?

Wilson?

 

I suspect they might try to pair Stuart with Barrie to move the more puck able Holden to another pairing, and it could be ugly.

 

All in all, their defense is the weakest link. If Varlamov cannot replicate his performance, the Avs are going to struggle.

Their D is a skeleton crew. That was my reasoning of mentioning Stuart on the PP. They really got nothing. That's why they need Barrie and more. I agree with you. Avs are gonna struggle if Varlamov doesn't stand on his head every game. Although I do think they have so e firepower. I think Mackinnon moved to the middle will produce more points. I don't think Mackinnon will see a Sophmore Slump unless the injury bug finds him.

[hf101]

Signed 2 year deal today worth $5.2M.

 

A great deal for the Aves. 

[jammer2]

@hf101   I should not have been 2.8 mill off my prediction. His agent did a horrible job there, that was not a great deal, it was highway robbery.