- Jan 18, 2016
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I don't get the Nemeth love. He's been OK at times - and he was a solid pickup for free - but he's hardly someone to be excited about.
Hey don’t you talk about him like that. He’s the reason Barrie is good at hockey.
I don't get the Nemeth love. He's been OK at times - and he was a solid pickup for free - but he's hardly someone to be excited about.
I don't see how the Avs can trade Barrie in the offseason without really messing up team chemistry as well as destroying the defensive depth. Sure, once Timmins/Makar prove themselves as NHL-ready defensemen then he may become expendable, but until then it really looks like the team needs him. Don't forget that the locker room (MacKinnon especially) really likes him - that's a factor.
And I'm saying this as someone who genuinely believes that over the course of a season Barrie hurts the team with his poor defensive play more than he helps it with his offensive play. It really is as if when he's on the ice the Avs are playing with 4 forwards. It's no coincidence they're leading the league in shorthanded goals against - their #1 unit essentially uses 5 forwards.
I know most people laugh at the very idea or dismiss it as never-gonna-happen, but just imagine if rather than trading him, they kept him but at some point transition him to forward. I personally think his skillset is much much more suited to playing wing and he'd be very successful as a scoring winger. That way you keep the team chemistry, keep his offensive skills on the team, but leave space for Girard/Makar to be the top offensive defenseman and stop hurting the team with Barrie's abysmal defensive play.
A lot of what Barrie brings to this team is his presence coordinating the play from the back end. He has fantastic vision, makes solid break out passes and is possibly one of the best players in the league at getting shots through to the net. He might not be the best “defense”man, but the league seems to be moving towards a much more fluid concept of what a player has to be (see Werenski, Karlsson, Ghost). I like Barrie on the back end and think he’s a fine number three
I wonder if Tavares would agree to come to Colorado for 1 year at $10-12M. How beastly would that top-6 be?!
2 years would make it difficult to re-sign guys like Rantanen and Zadorov but one year wouldn't make a difference cap-wise.
I've been one of the more vocal guys about trading Barrie because the 'writing is on the wall' so-to-speak for a while but his play since EJ got injured has me genuinely intrigued to the point where I've flip-flopped.
Barrie has stepped it up with his overall play and has been playing just fantastic hockey on the 1st pair. What impresses me the most is that he's playing a smarter game and taking fewer chances and making better decisions with the puck all the while maintaining his strong offensive puck drive. I honestly didn't think he had it in him and I thought he was who he was. Barrie is reaching the magical 400 GP (396) plateau which is often widely considered the benchmark for d-men to tell you what kind of player you've got. We'll see if he can maintain this level of play but the way he's been playing the past little while, I wouldn't consider him a #3 d-man...he's been playing like a top-pairing guy for sure.
So for all those reasons, I think the Avs would be wise to hang on to him at least for the foreseeable future. He's also a big part of why we have a great shot at the playoffs. If we were to trade him though, the return would have to be phenomenal.
Same could be said about a lot of players. They seem to take on larger roles with open arms to prove their worth. Let's hope this final stretch and then into the playoffs we see all those guys bring their absolute best.I just wish Barrie could play like EJ's out all the time.
Lol... should every great offensive defensemen change positions to forward?
It's laughed at because it's not plausible. It's extremely rare for position changes to take place, and they almost never take place at the NHL level. The only players I can think of over the last ~10 years that have transitioned from forward to defence or defence to forward are Brent Burns, Dustin Byfuglien, and Mark Streit. It just doesn't happen. In the cases of Burns and Byfuglien, they went from forward to defence.See, this is what I prefaced my suggestion with the idea that everyone laughs at it.
But I'll answer your question anyway: No, of course not. That would be idiotic.
It's laughed at because it's not plausible. It's extremely rare for position changes to take place, and they almost never take place at the NHL level. The only players I can think of over the last ~10 years that have transitioned from forward to defence or defence to forward are Brent Burns, Dustin Byfuglien, and Mark Streit. It just doesn't happen. In the cases of Burns and Byfuglien, they went from forward to defence.
Besides, why would you want to remove a player from where they are most comfortable and a position they've played all their life into a position they've likely never played?
Yeah, I already acknowledged it's extremely unlikely. I wasn't aware that makes something a bad idea. I'm not arguing that the Avs will move Barrie to forward or that they are likely to do so. I'm arguing that they should
As for why I would want him moved from where he's comfortable - because it's what's best for the team. Why should a player who has played top line offensive minutes and been a star all their life have to be a 4th liner and kill penalties in the NHL? It's not what they're used to or comfortable with but it's what lots of players need to do because it's what's best for the team.
Tell me this - assuming he was fine with it and worked hard to be good at it, do you think he'd be better as a winger or as a defenseman?
Same could be said about a lot of players. They seem to take on larger roles with open arms to prove their worth. Let's hope this final stretch and then into the playoffs we see all those guys bring their absolute best.
If we see Mackinnon, Mikko, Gabe, Soderberg, Ej, Barrie and Zadorov all playing at their peaks we're beating Vegas. I'm not the type of person that speaks with that kind of confidence about my team but that in my opinion is a no doubter. All those guys have shown their peaks recently and it's been freaking scary. All of them doing it at the same time and Vegas wont stand a chance.
lol you just hate giving Tyson credit,huh? Why the f*** should nemeth get any credit whatsoever for not being Nate f***in Guenin?
He's been good no doubt, be we haven't seen peak Varlamov in nearly half a decade now.*and Varlamov
He's been good no doubt, be we haven't seen peak Varlamov in nearly half a decade now.
But, they shouldn't. Like, that's a disaster waiting to happen. And since when do players that have played top line offensive minutes and been stars get moved to the 4th line because it's what's best for the team?Yeah, I already acknowledged it's extremely unlikely. I wasn't aware that makes something a bad idea. I'm not arguing that the Avs will move Barrie to forward or that they are likely to do so. I'm arguing that they should
As for why I would want him moved from where he's comfortable - because it's what's best for the team. Why should a player who has played top line offensive minutes and been a star all their life have to be a 4th liner and kill penalties in the NHL? It's not what they're used to or comfortable with but it's what lots of players need to do because it's what's best for the team.
Tell me this - assuming he was fine with it and worked hard to be good at it, do you think he'd be better as a winger or as a defenseman?
Pretty much this. Not to mention his top end speed isn't the greatest. He's great laterally and shifting, but there's a clear difference in skating as a forward versus skating as a defensemen. Barrie IMO would struggle as a forward.Easily better as a defensemen... it fits the way he plays the game much better. I think Barrie would be borderline terrible as a scoring winger. You're asking a player who is better with the puck than without it, and isn't the greatest on the boards to play without the puck more and to do boardwork as a main job. Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. IMO Barrie is clearly showing he is a top pairing D. He isn't a #1 by any stretch, but he is a #2 and a very solid one at that.
He's been good no doubt, be we haven't seen peak Varlamov in nearly half a decade now.