According to the Canadian Press on Tuesday, the Edmonton Oilers traded defenseman Tyson Barrie of Victoria, British Columbia to the Nashville Predators with prospect Reid Schaefer of Spruce Grove, Alberta, a first round pick in the 2023 National Hockey League Entry Draft, and a fourth round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft for Mattias Ekholm and a sixth round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. This season, Barrie was the Oilers best defenseman. He had 10 goals and 33 assists for 43 points in 61 games. He was a -3 with 26 penalty minutes, 28 power-play points, 115 shots on goal, 68 blocked shots, 43 hits, 25 takeaways, and 28 giveaways.
The Predators become Barrie’s fourth NHL team. He initially played eight seasons with the Colorado Avalanche (2011 to 2019), one season with the Toronto Maple Leafs (2019 to 2020), and three seasons with the Oilers (2020 to 2023).
A lot of hockey analysts knew the Oilers needed to improve their defense. They have had no problem scoring this season (lead the NHL with 232 goals). but struggled in keeping the puck out of their net. Their 204 goals against are the 12th most in the NHL. I disagree with the Oilers trading Barrie because I would not have altered the best power-play unit in the NHL. I would have traded Darnell Nurse of Hamilton, Ontario, who is a career -277 when it comes to the takeaway/giveaway ratio.
