Three Players The Edmonton Oilers Could Still Trade

Tyson Barrie- $4.5 Million

Tyson Barrie is the perfect player for the Edmonton Oilers to try an move. He is still a skilled a valuable player in the NHL. He has the ability to run the powerplay and his puck moving skills are still near the top in the league.

With the emergence of Evan Bouchard last season has made Barrie expendable. Bouchard has shown us that he has the ability to play top 4 minutes as well as run the point on the powerplay.

Tyson Barrie to me is still better than Bouchard on the powerplay, but Bouchard is the better defender and he is only going to get better as he gains experience. Last season Woodcroft had Barrie in the third pairing and Bouchard in the second pairing.

This shows me that Woodcroft has more trust in Bouchard in defending. So, at this point you are basically paying $4.5 million for a powerplay specialist. This doesn’t make much sense considering the fact that Bouchard is the future in that spot.

The $4.5 million that Barrie is getting paid could be much better used on a player in more impactful role. It could also be used to extend the RFA’s that still need to be signed. Yamamoto, Puljujarvi and McLeod all have more impact on a game than Barrie does.