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Columnist: Schultz deal might complicate Avs’ talks with RFA Barrie

Colorado Avalanche v San Jose Sharks

Tyson Barrie

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Defenseman Tyson Barrie might have been very happy when the news broke that Justin Schultz had agreed to a one-year, $3.657 million contract with the Edmonton Oilers.

Barrie, who remains a restricted free agent, is in a similar position with the Colorado Avalanche in the sense that he’s an offensive defenseman who is coming off of his entry-level deal and is likely to end up with a bridge contract. Barrie and Schultz have put up similar career numbers in terms of goals and points.

Mike Chambers of the Denver Post previously felt that Barrie’s contract would be in the range of $2.4 million to $3.5 million annually, but he’s re-evaluating those figures in light of what Schultz got.

Colorado has roughly $4.3 million in cap space, per Cap Geek, so a fear of exceeding the ceiling isn’t likely to prevent the Avalanche from re-signing him. At the same time, Colorado has previously talked about its desire to maintain a structure that leaves the team with enough flexibility to make moves over the course of the campaign.

Meanwhile, the start of training camp is less than three weeks away.

Related:

Sakic on RFA Barrie: ‘I’m confident he’ll be here’

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