1. Tyson Barrie
Team: Colorado Avalanche Age: 24 Status: RFA
2015-2016 stats: GP: 78 G: 13 A: 36 P: 49 +/-: -16 PIM: 31
What to do with Tyson Barrie? That is the (several) million-dollar question in Colorado. Their preference is likely to keep him, but only at the right price.
Unfortunately, that price is somewhat hard to determine. On one hand, he is an elite puck-moving defenseman, who can fly and might have the best wrist shot on the Avalanche since Joe Sakic. On the other hand, he plays with reckless abandon, and is a liability in his own end.
Personally, I feel teams need a defenseman like Barrie to jumpstart the offensive attack from the back end. There is also a chance, he will grow into a more responsible defender, as he is only 24.
The Avalanche have also invested heavily in Barrie. Though the financial commitment hasn’t been too significant thus far (he had a cap hit of $2.6 million last season), they did trade Kevin Shattenkirk and Stefan Elliott due, in large part, to his presence in the system.
Complicating the situation is the fact that Barrie is eligible for arbitration. The Avalanche hate the arbitration process, and are likely to either overpay slightly to sign him or simply trade him to avoid it. They should be leery, however, of overpaying too much.
Estimated cost: $4.5-5.5 million per season.
