*Photo from Oilers Nation*
One of the Edmonton Oilers best offensive defensemen is back in the fold. The Oilers and right shot D Tyson Barrie have agreed on a 3 year, $13.5 million deal, with a $4.5 million AAV, according to the team.
Asked about returning to Edmonton, Barrie said that "I think it was a bit of a no-brainer to come back to a place where I've had success, and it didn't go the way we wanted to at the end of the year, but I believe we're a good team and we're not that far off."
Last season, Barrie put up good offensive numbers, scoring 8 goals and dishing out 40 assists, with a +5 plus/minus in an ATOI of 21:24, suiting up for all 56 regular season games, as well as all 4 playoff games Edmonton played. In his career, Barrie has 88 goals and 306 assists, with a -61 plus/minus in an ATOI of 21:45, playing in 610 games.
The main caveat with Barrie is simply. His offensive numbers are good, but, if you ask him to play his position, defense, prepare to be disappointed. Barrie has simply been a below average defender his entire career, which is not something you really want from a defenseman. Yes, he uses his defenseman position to drive the offense up the ice and quarterback the power play, but he is just not a good defender in his own end.
Oilers GM Ken Holland spoke about re-signing Barrie, saying that "Certainly I know he's played with some high-octane superstar players here, but he's another guy that can think at their level and help us have a No. 1 power play."
Edmonton has had a busy offseason. In addition to Barrie, they have re-signed Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Mike Smith, traded for burly defenseman Duncan Keith, and signed center Zach Hyman.
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