Edmonton Oilers Talk: Could Duncan Keith be the Key to Tyson Barrie’s Norris Trophy Pursuit?

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Oil on Whyte (Courville-Lynch)

Edmonton Oilers: How many points could Barrie put up next season?

Tyson Barrie recorded an impressive 48 points in 56 games in his first season with the Oilers. The Defenseman definitely left his mark on the offensive side of the game with the team last season…
Barrie doesn’t really have much to prove, he’s a solidified power play quarterback, he has a good playmaking ability, and overall has a decent hockey IQ.
Barrie needs to work on his play in his own zone, this offseason should have been completely focused on that. I think bringing in Keith will definitely help him though.
His knowledge, if used properly, could propel Barrie into a two-way defenseman, and it would be tough not to give him a look for the Norris Trophy.

2021-22 Stat Prediction: 13 Goals, 53 Assists, 68 Points.

BLH’s Thoughts: I don’t think Barrie will get as much TOI on the PP next season. I’m of the belief that Evan Bouchard will start to transition into the team’s PP QB.

I do like the idea of Duncan Keith helping round out Barrie’s game though. It was a joke that Barrie didn’t get even one single vote for the Norris despite leading the entire league in scoring at his position. It’s not as easy as some think to play with elite talents like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. It’s a skill in it’s own right to be able to skate with those guys and produce with them. So, hopefully Keith can help out with the rest of Tyson’s game a bit.

I’ll say that Barrie gets 18 goals and 55 assists next season.

Oilersnation (Brownlee)

That Drai Deal…

August 16 also the date in 2017 the Edmonton Oilers inked Leon Draisaitl to an eight-year contract extension worth $68 million, for an AAV of $8.5 million.
I thought it was a $1 million overpay by GM Peter Chiarelli back then and so did many of you…
After putting up 25-45-70 in 2017-18, Draisaitl scored 50 goals and had 105 points in 2018-19. The encore came in 2019-20, when Draisaitl not only surpassed 100 points again with 43-67-110 but claimed the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league MVP and the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s scoring leader.
The bottom line is there isn’t a better one-two punch in the league than the one the long-gone Chiarelli orchestrated.
it’s a rare tip of the cap to Chiarelli for setting the foundation of this franchise with the inking of McDavid and Draisaitl…

BLH’s Thoughts: I won’t shy away from the fact that I wanted Edmonton to take Sam Bennett at the 2014 draft. Bennett reminded me of Doug Gilmour and I thought the team needed more heart at the team. Egg on my face.

When the Edmonton Oilers win the Stanley Cup, Peter Chiarelli will be deserved of some praise because of the contracts he worked out for McDavid and Draisaitl. Chia’s fingerprints will still be on the club when it wins it’s sixth championship and that’s going to drive a lot of people nuts.

Spector’s Hockey

THE ATHLETIC: In a recent mailbag segment, Hailey Salvian was asked if other moves could be in store for the Calgary Flames. She feels they still have some obvious holes on the defense, especially on the right side. They could consider going the trade or free-agent route or look within their system to address that issue.

Asked if the Flames could make a big move, Salvian believes they’re not done and there’s plenty of time remaining in the offseason.

EDMONTON JOURNAL: Kurt Leavins speculates the Oilers could use a professional tryout offer route as training camp approaches to add an experienced No. 4 defenseman with a right-hand shot. He suggested Michael Stone or Sami Vatanen as possible options.