Colorado Avalanche Should Keep Tyson Barrie
By Ross Kleppe
#3 – The Avs will need him for future success
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One of the arguments for trading Barrie is the amount of quality defenseman the Avs have in the pipeline. Cale Makar has the makings and the looks of a premier offensive defenseman in this league. Conor Timmons and Nicolas Meloche look like they will become great two-way defenseman for the Avs. These are three big names that are likely to become mainstays on the back end.
Likely, however, is the key word. There are no guarantees with prospects. One or two of those players mentioned above may not turn out to be all they’re hyped up to be. They also may take longer to develop than anticipated.
So, in scenario A, all of these defenseman work out and are impact NHL defenseman. That gives the Avs Erik Johnson, Tyson Barrie and Nikita Zadorov on standard NHL contracts and Makar, Timmons, Girard and Meloche on entry level deals. That is a fantastic blue line for not that much cap space. Think of how successful the Nashville Predators have been in the past few years with a strong blue line (relax, I know Roman Josi and P.K. Subban are elite defenseman and contribute a lot to their success).
In scenario B, one or two of Makar, Timmons, Meloche and Girard don’t pan out to be NHL players. The Avs still have Barrie to provide the offense the players and coaches know he can, and the back end is still quite strong.