Because of that familiarity, Muzzin said he cannot wait to see what Barrie will be able to add to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"He's a skilled, very, very high-end skilled defenseman," Muzzin said Tuesday. "He sees the ice well, skates well, shoots well, he does a lot of things very well. He's a piece I think we needed on our back end. We're lucky to have him."
Barrie was acquired by the Maple Leafs in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche on July 1 with forward Alex Kerfoot and a sixth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft for forward Nazem Kadri, defenseman Calle Rosen and a third-round pick in the 2020 draft.
Barrie had 116 points (28 goals, 88 assists) in 146 games over the past two seasons, sixth in the League among defensemen, but despite that, Muzzin said he does not think people around Toronto are aware of just how good he is.
"There's a lot of guys like that in the West," Muzzin said. "A lot of the media and everything is out East here, so you don't see as much about what guys are doing in the West. But people are about to see it. We're excited to have him, a piece that we needed, and we got him."