MarkT
Heretic
- Nov 11, 2017
- 3,997
- 4,513
You’ve been answered by other posters. Putting Barrie at wing takes away his strengths. Not to mention he gets away with being a bit undersized but stocky on defence but if you think he gets bullied in his own zone, he’d be useless along the boards as an attacker.
You’ll notice that 2 of the 3 that he listed as transitioning successfully ar practically twice Barrie’s size, not a coincidence.
He’s probably not even an NHL caliber player at wing TBH.
Not to mention it then takes our D corps back down to being a significant weakness when this is one of the first years it hasn’t been in ages.
Yeah and I replied to those other posters as well. Forgive me for offering an unpopular opinion.
Also, I fully admit to not being a hockey expert, but Barrie seems to do perfectly well down low in the offensive zone now. I'm not suggesting he be transitioned into a checking line forward. I'm suggesting he be used as a scoring winger and paired with players who can do the heavy lifting down low. And I really don't see how it takes away his strengths. His strengths are his vision with the puck, his passing and his shot. Without the puck in the defensive zone he's, to use your words "probably not even an NHL caliber player" in my opinion.
And I'm not suggesting this be done now. I'm suggesting it as an alternative to trading him when he the blueline starts to get crowded with guys who are also offensively talented.
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.
I'll respectfully disagree at him being a top pairing D. Unless we're judging defensive pairings purely on offensive skill of course.