Bayne Pettinger, Tyson Barrie’s agent, confirmed Wednesday that his client had indeed signed a training camp pro tryout agreement in Calgary.
That’s the perfect spot for the former Oilers defenceman, because the Flames had a woeful power play last season. They were 26th overall, with only 45 power-play goals, with MacKenzie Weegar and Rasmus Andersson on the point on their two poiwer-play squads.
Weegar had a very strong offensive year with 20 goals and 52 points but had just three goals and 15 points on the power play. Andersson had no goals and eight points on the power play. They aren’t prototypical power-play point guys.
The right-shot Barrie has run power plays his entire NHL career, more than 800 games, except in Nashville, where they already had Roman Josi, and Barrie became an afterthought. More than 40 per cent of Barrie’s career 505 points have come on the power play. So, if he can’t get a contract in Calgary after camp for cheap money, we would be shocked.
Pettinger admitted to some frustration this summer as he worked the phones, trying to find a new team for Barrie, 33, but teams basically see Barrie as a power-play guy only. The fact is, Barrie can also be a No. 5 defenceman on many teams, but at least, Barrie — totally bummed last season in Nashville — finally has some light at the end of the tunnel in Calgary.
“Tyson was crushed when he got traded (for Mattias Ekholm). He would love to get to 1,000 games, which is about two seasons away. And he’s got 500 points,” said Pettinger, who says he talked to the Oilers, who already traded for right-shot defenceman man Ty Emberson in the Cody Ceci deal and signed fellow righties Troy Stecher and Josh Brown over the summer.
Pettinger felt Barrie could be an insurance policy in case his power-play successor on the Oilers, Evan Bouchard, got hurt. But Barrie, whose wife Emma Rose gave birth to a girl two weeks ago, a brother for Leo, has gone in another direction, due south.
Pettinger also talked to the Winnipeg Jets because they were 22nd on the power play last season, but for now they’re sticking with the all-purpose underrated Josh Morrissey.
Why it took so long for even a camp invite is the way the NHL teams often do things. They often want to look at the younger people on their organizational depth charts first and don’t want to commit to a larger free-agent contract in July. It looks like the same story with veteran forward Tyler Johnson, who just got a PTO in Boston, and he brings two Cup rings in Tampa, along with his equipment bag.
The Flames have almost $20 million in cap space so no problem adding Barrie on a $1-million contract if he looks good in camp. He might actually be a second-pairing option with Kevin Bahl, acquired from Jersey in the Jacob Markstrom trade. Barrie’s former Kelowna WHL junior coach Ryan Huska is also behind the Flames bench now, so he has somebody in his corner. If signed for low money for one year, they could easily flip Barrie at the trade deadline too, to a contender. Nashville found no takers, not with his $4.5 million cap hit there, at the 2023 deadline.
This ‘n’ that
While Leon Draisaitl’s eight-year, $112-million contract extension calls for almost all of it in signing bonus — just $1 million base salary each season — it’s a similar scenario to Connor McDavid’s. No. 97’s eight-year deal, signed in 2018 with then-agent Jeff Jackson, called for $2 million in base salary for the first two years, then $1 million for four years, and it’s $3 million the last two seasons. So, $14 million in salary and $86 million in signing bonus, paid out per season … Bakersfield goalie Olivier Rodrigue is representing the Oilers at the NHLPA rookie media meet ‘n’ greet showcase this week at the Washington Capitals practice rink … Two interesting names at Oil Kings junior camp: ex-NHL defenceman Bryce Salvador’s son Hudson and former Oilers defenceman Jan Hejda’s son Matheas, both drafted Oil Kings players … Fernando Pisani’s son Teo, picked by the Oil Kings in the 2021 bantam draft, didn’t sign with the WHL club and is going the college route like his pops (Fernando went to Providence College). Teo is a forward for the Spruce Grove Saints. He’s off to U of Nebraska-Omaha in 2025-2026 … Oilers’ first-round pick, London Knights centre Sam O’Reilly, is expected to headline the Oilers prospects roster for the Young Stars tournament in Penticton, which starts Sept. 13 … Former high-end Oil Kings defenceman Marc Lajoie, who signed an amateur tryout with AHL Bakersfield last spring, will be on the Oilers prospect roster for the four-day tournament with Canucks, Flames and Jets’ kids. There’s no Oilers rookie camp here, just medicals, and then the roster will fly to the Okanagan … The Oilers will definitely miss Ryan McLeod’s penalty-kill work after his July trade to Buffalo. He played almost 37 minutes short-handed in the playoffs last spring and wasn’t on for a single short-handed goal. McLeod is expected to centre the Sabres’ third line with Jordan Greenway on one wing, and maybe young Zach Benson on the other … Matt McConnell is moving from Arizona to do the Utah TV play-by-play, an excellent call, but his longtime Edmonton-born Coyotes’ sidekick Tyson Nash is not. McConnell will have Dominic Moore and Nick Olczyk, Eddie Olczyk’s son, as colour commentators. Tyson Nash’s son Ty will be playing for the U of A Golden Bears this season after last year with the Oil Kings.
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