FOR BARRIE: Versatile like Never Before
Alright, so you say that there isn’t room for Tyson Barrie on the blueline. There’s room on the offense, surely? That’s why there is all the chatter about Milan Lucic, Troy Brouwer, Andrew Ladd, and Loui Eriksson, isn’t it?
The Canucks need speed and skill not only on the blueline but also up the wings. Barrie, though small as a winger, has all the skillset to be a successful playmaker and scorer when paired with larger linemates.
And as a defenseman, Tyson Barrie, I would think, will make a very defensively-aware winger. If he manages to play as a left winger, the possibilities are pretty good:
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T. Barrie — B. Sutter — A. Rodin
This looks pretty good to me. Sutter can be the big centerman who can play the speedy game and provide good defensive coverage while Barrie sneaks around opposition defenders. Rodin would play the scoring role as the sniper who wouldn’t be bound by much defensive responsibility considering his linemates consist of a defender and a pretty good defensive centerman.
Looking at the success that Brent Burns has had as a forward-defenseman hybrid, Barrie could try to mimic the All-Star defenseman, though lacking the ideal size and frame that Burns has.
As the previous point said, if forwards need to score and defenders need to defend, make Barrie a forward.
The powerplay becomes so much more potent with Barrie’s addition. The timely addition of Gudbranson also helped the powerplay that could look like this with Barrie’s coming:
The possibilities look pretty good to me. The Canucks could have one of the most well-rounded powerplay units in the entire league.
Next: AGAINST BARRIE: Do the MATH and Look AHEAD