Two former Oilers defencemen linked to rival team in free agency.
In the later years of their careers, former Oilers defencemen Tyson Barrie and Justin Schultz are fighting for one more chance in the NHL, and have now been linked to tryout deals with the Vancouver Canucks
According to a recent report from CanucksArmy, the Canucks are looking to add one more defenceman that will serve in the 6th or 7th spot. Former Oilers Justin Schultz and Tyson Barrie were named as two of five candidates.
Justin Schultz played the first four seasons of his career with the Edmonton Oilers from 2012-2016. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins where he won two Stanley Cups, then played two short stints with the Washington Capitals and Seattle Kraken. He’s a more puck-moving defender than a defensive specialist, and season he posted a brutal -23 rating. If the 34 year old wants to stay in the NHL, he’ll have to play better defensively. Schultz has played 745 career games, and scored a respectable 324 points.
Tyson Barrie broke into the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche, and had several seasons as a high-end offensive defenceman in the league. After one season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he played three years with the Oilers with decent success – scoring over 40 points every year. After he was traded to the Nashville Predators for Mattias Ekholm, his career took a dive when he couldn’t play well enough defensively to stay in the lineup, and wasn’t scoring either. After being a regular healthy scratch and only playing 41 games, Barrie requested a trade from the Predators, but was never dealt. In 809 career games, Barrie’s scored an impressive 505 points.
Both veteran defenceman will likely earn another shot in the NHL just based on their resumes, and both being from British Columbia, may take a Tryout contract to try to earn a spot on their hometown team. Barrie and Schultz still definitely have quality hockey left in them, hopefully they get another chance in the league.
