Toronto Maple Leafs: Sparking the Tyson Barrie Talk

Do you still think the Toronto Maple Leafs need some external defensive help?

I’m as optimistic as they come, but acquiring a puck-moving right-handed defenseman is key for the Toronto Maple Leafs to become next level good.

Their defensive group is doing well, but it could be a whole lot better if they had someone like Tyson Barrie on the back end.

Now, I speculated during the summer months about a potential trade targeting scenario for Barrie’s services, but that was all just thinking out loud.

You remember that series, it went on for months.

Anyways, it appears his name has crossed paths in the ‘rumours’ column again, so I’ll spark the conversation up one last time and then we’ll leave it be – unless anything were to occur.

By the way, this is purely based off of Mark Easson’s latest post, so we’ll be referencing that quite a bit.

Let’s get to it.

Assets

More from Editor In Leaf

Easson starts off by stating the obvious, Josh Leivo is good and there’s little to no room for him on the Leafs roster, a sad fact, but a fact indeed.

I’m still of the opinion that keeping Leivo over Kasperi Kapanen (if the Leafs were ever in that situation) is better for the team moving forward.

I’d bet that Kapanen could fetch far more in return and we already have a few better versions of him in the lineup as is and as for Leivo, he could take someone’s spot, wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

Don’t shoot me, you’ve all known my position on Kapanen from day one, it’s not hating on him, it’s just my opinion of how to strategically improve the club long term, that’s all.

You can think of it this way, he’s potentially more valuable as trade bait, but keep mind that I said, potentially.

All speculation and opinion, folks.

For now, we’ll just roll with one of the two being packaged plus other assets for Barrie, that’s what would be on the table from Toronto’s end.

And there’s more on Leivo to come in this article, so keep on reading.

Easson Quote

The following is according to Easson and is also the reason why I stated there’s not much meat to this whole conversation, still, it’s worth noting.

"The Leafs were reportedly close to trading for Colorado Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie this offseason. It’s not known if they’ve reopened trade talks."

Now, I don’t recall any national publication (Sportsnet, TSN, NHL, etc.) on the Leafs being ‘in’ on Barrie over the summer, it’s also possible I missed it, so if I did, please fire it my way, but I do remember talking about it myself, as mentioned above.

If it’s true, then I wouldn’t be too upset if there were potential conversations being had with Colorado, but just remember how sneaky Joe Sakic is, look no further than his most recent blockbuster.

The Leivo Conundrum

Lastly, here’s something to think about in regards to Leivo, courtesy of Pierre LeBrun, scribed by Easson (linked above).

"worth remembering on Josh Leivo by the way: if he plays in fewer than 34 NHL games rest of the season, he becomes Group 6 UFA. If he plays in 34 or more NHL games rest of the season, he’s RFA July 1. CBA rule for Group 6 UFA: any player who is 25 years old as of July 1 and has played 3 or more pro seasons and fewer than 80 NHL games for his career. Leivo turns 25 in May, has played in 4 pro seasons and so far has played 46 NHL games."

Basically, we want Leivo to play a lot so he doesn’t become an unrestricted free agent, either that or the Leafs trade him soon and he can finish out those games with another team, UFA status.

Next: Stealing the Show

It’s all interesting and just something to keep an eye on.

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