Nobody is giving you a 2nd for Barron, he's barely NHL caliber right now and has to clear waivers next season to be sent down

Isles should do that, MTL doesn't

Maybe, but I doubt Barron fetches a 2nd…

Barron is intriguing, but the Flames have Miromanov and Brustewicz already and should probably bring in a Big Shut Down 3rd Pairing D-Man, like Hakanpaa or Chris Tanev instead

Calgary declines hard.

Dallas paid a first round pick for Lundkvist who wasn’t having any success in North America at that time. Barron is still only 22 and he is a right handed defenseman. There definitely team that would take a chance for a second round pick no doubt there. Barron have been inconsistent for sure but he have had dominant stretch also.

Nils Lundkvist had another year of waiver exemption when he was traded. You clearly don't see how relevant waiver exemption is. Once you loose exemption if you aren't an established NHLer your trade value plummets.

I don’t agree at all with this statement. Lundkvist wasn’t by any means a established Nhlers at all. Dallas could have acquire a complete bust en lost him the next year via waivers. Dallas acquire him because they believe he was a players that could help them. If a team inquired about Barron it’s because they believe he can have a impact for them so waivers won’t even be a question mark. Barron is not 25 he is 22. Defenseman growth always take longer.
Rasmus Sandin landed a 1st round pick and he wasn’t waiver eligible and wasn’t a established defender. Best example would probably be Jake Bean. Carolina received a 2nd rounder for a defenseman who had less experience than Barron and also who was left handed. I just don’t by your theory. It would applied maybe on a player that haven’t shown any promise but it ain’t the case with Barron. He have shown he can play at a high level in the NHL, problem like i said is just consistency like most you g player. Barron still have top 4 potential despite not being a all star at 22 years old. Some scout are full aware of that and he still hold great value, i have absolutely no doubt about that.

Your whole premise is relying on a team wanting to spend assets to acquire him. And your argument is a single example of a player who is in a different situation traded for high value.

What about Bernard-Docker, Lassi Thomson, Bjornfot, Valimaki, Ty Smith? Would you offer a 2nd for either of Soderstrom or Heinola right now?

I am not at all arguing that defensemen take longer to develop on average but it is factually correct that one you lose waiver exemption, if you are not an established NHLer your trade value plummets. There are hundreds of examples of this. Eli Tolvanen is a great one for example, look at his success despite being a waiver claim.

Your assessment of Barron is what is wrong here. All those players except Bernard Docker, haven’t shown sign of improvement since being drafted. That not the case with Barron who have work on is defensive game a lot in the past year. Barron won’t pass thru waiver since Mtl have space to keep him. Barron have almost a 100 games of experience where he shown enough, now he just need to find the consistency. Mtl won’t gave up on a 22 years old promising a right handed defenseman when they don’t need to.