Another Oilers Tyson Barrie Trade
By Phil Gretzky
Strictly my opinion, of course, but this would be a good hockey trade for both teams. The Islanders get more puck moving from their blueline, which they sorely need. The Oilers, meanwhile, will definitely lose some puck moving but will gain a player who’s younger, cheaper, and has more tools in the toolbox. The Islanders can take on Barrie’s cap hit while the Oilers get just over $3 million in cap space they really need. They could also use Mayfield’s abilities on the PK.
As far as the loss of points, personally I think between Darnell Nurse, Evan Bouchard, and Philip Broberg should he make the team, I think the Oilers can make up for the loss of Barrie’s offence.
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Granted, Bouchard is just as young as Noah Dobson, so it would be hypocritical of me to say Dobson could slide but Bouchard won’t just because he’s an Oiler. Bouchard could slide just like Dobson, but IMO the smart money is on both players building on the previous seasons they had with their respective teams. I think Nurse has more offence in him, and we’ve already seen what Broberg can do in limited time. With a veteran like Mayfield manning the other side, is it out of the question that Broberg can put up 15-20 points next season? I don’t want to put too much pressure on the kid, but IMO that’s a realistic target.
Besides, the Oilers are already stacked so much at forward that I don’t think they’ll miss Barrie’s offence. We already have guys like Barrie on the roster in Nurse and Bouchard, so we’ve got the puck moving thing down pretty good as far as I’m concerned. If the Oilers want to rise above the rest of the teams in their way on the road to another cup we need to tweak the makeup of the D. Mayfield will bring more physicality, jam, and PK ability to the roster which we need.
Whenever Markus Niemelainen makes the team, he’ll further cement that element on the roster.
Mayfield will be a UFA after next season but it’s not like he’ll demand a huge raise. To me, this is a better use of cap space on the roster.