BLOG: Barrie gushing offensively

MONTREAL, QC – Tyson Barrie is ripening at the right time.

Following a slow start to the National Hockey League season which saw the defender produce two assists in his first eight games in Oilers silks, the 29-year-old is seeing the fruits of his labour translate to the ice. 

Barrie is second in defencemen scoring with four goals, 26 assists and 30 points in 34 contests, trailing only 2018 Norris Trophy winner and Tampa Bay Lightning blueliner Victor Hedman by three points.

The 5-foot-11, 196-pounder tops all defencemen with 98 shots this season and is fourth in power-play points with 14.

Video: PRACTICE | Read & React 03.25.21

Barrie signed a one-year contract with the Oilers after a down season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 588-game veteran is just a single tally short of matching his 2019-20 goal total and 10 points from surpassing the 39 he collected with the Maple Leafs. 

“It was a pretty easy decision for me,” Barrie said Thursday from Montreal. 

“I knew with everything going on in the world, the way that the cap was going to be structured and coming off a year where I wanted to have a bounce-back, I think it was a no-brainer for me coming to play with the high-end guys they have here.”

The choice to become a member of the Edmonton Oilers, with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl pacing the League as the two best scorers, came naturally for Barrie. But shouldering the workload left by the absence of Oscar Klefbom and keeping pace with the game’s greatest young stars is easier said than done. 

Video: RAW | Dave Tippett 03.25.21

“I’ve been lucky to have some good offensive defencemen. He’s certainly in that group that plays very well and can make plays,” Head Coach Dave Tippett said of Barrie.

“I watched a bunch of tape on him when he was in Colorado and then some in Toronto before we signed him. He’s an intelligent, offensive player. His ability to get himself out of trouble and move the puck are areas that he’s really done well for us.”

Barrie has a list of accomplishments already in just half of a condensed, 56-game schedule with the Orange & Blue. The 2009 third-round selection was the first defenceman to notch 30 points this season, doing so in 33 outings. He became the fastest Edmonton Oilers defender to reach the mark since Paul Coffey collected 30 points in 22 contests during the 1986-87 campaign.

Video: RAW | Tyson Barrie 03.25.21

Not only is Barrie finding personal success but so too is his defence partner Darnell Nurse. The 2013 seventh-overall pick has been a force at 5-on-5, leading all defencemen at even-strength with 10 goals and 21 points while averaging 25:34 minutes a night.

“There were some question marks with how things were going to work. Fortunately, it’s gone alright and we’re moving ahead,” Tippett said of his team’s response to the absence of Klefbom, who is receiving shoulder surgery this week. 

“We’ve been fortunate that we’ve had guys step up. We’ve solidified without him. That being said, we’d certainly like to have him.”

While contract talks for players generally begin near the latter half of a season, Barrie is not letting those discussions get in the way of his performance.

“We’ll go through the process whenever that happens,” he said. “We have 22 games left, a big push to finish the season and then make some noise in the playoffs.”