Habs Halifax
Loyal Habs Fan
Babcock absolutely had a massive influence on how Barrie played in Toronto. Here are Barrie’s stats during and post-Babcock in 2019-20.
Under Babcock:
7 points in 23 games (25 point pace)
Minus 11
Under Keefe:
32 points in 47 games (56 point pace)
Plus 4
I’m not saying Barrie was the perfect defenseman, as i’m the first to admit that his defensive game is sub par. But under Keefe he played like a second paring, puck moving power play QB. This is exactly what Dubas was intending on acquiring, and it definitely didn’t work out initially when Babcock destroyed the player Barrie has always been.
The trade not working out shouldn’t be completely blamed on Dubas, and it’s not as bad as a lot of people make it out to be. I think everyone knew Kadri would flourish in Colorado with more offensive opportunities. Dubas wanted to acquire a 50 - 60 point RHD and a 35 - 45 point 3rd liner. That’s basically what he got, but in the end the team didn’t take the next step....and I wouldn’t blame the Kadri/Barrie trade on why the team underperformed. There is a whole laundry list of things that went wrong.
If Barrie was your solution at RD, Leafs would have signed him to an extension. It was a bad trade... just face it. Barrie does not suck but he was an offensive puck mover type that the Leafs did not need. Barrie is not effective in his own end without the puck. It's a factor I think Dubas has overlooked and maybe he is learning about that. Now Kadri is gone and all you got to show for it is Kerfoot. Reply going to be... Brodie was signed for free. Yeah, that's like saying the Habs traded Domi for Anderson and Toffoli.
I don't hate Barrie as a D man... He was just not the guy the Leafs needed. Simple as that.