Report: Predators give Barrie permission to talk to teams

The Nashville Predators have given defenseman Tyson Barrie permission to talk to other teams to facilitate a trade, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports.

Barrie's anticipated to be a healthy scratch Saturday against the New York Rangers.

The 32-year-old has zero goals and nine points in 22 games this season with Nashville. Barrie's 18:51 average ice time is his lowest since 2013-14.

Barrie was acquired by the Predators before last year's trade deadline as a cap dump from the Edmonton Oilers in the Mattias Ekholm deal. He collected 13 goals and 55 points in 85 games last season. The blue-liner played three more contests than a standard campaign length because of the trade, tying the NHL record for most games in a season.

With the Oilers, Barrie led all defensemen in scoring during the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign with 48 points in 56 contests.

Barrie is in the final season of a three-year contract that carries a $4.5-million cap hit. He'll be an unrestricted free agent after the 2023-24 campaign.