Tyson Barrie Contract: What Might He Get?

What might a Tyson Barrie contract extension be worth?

Now that the Colorado Avalanche have tied up their pending UFA, Erik Johnson, for the next eight seasons, it’s time to look at some pending restricted free agents, specifically Tyson Barrie. Barrie is under contract for one more season with a cap hit of $2.6 million.

The general consensus is that he’s going to want a pay raise.

Before we start talking numbers, let’s explore what Tyson Barrie means to the team.

Tyson Barrie and the Colorado Avalanche

Defenseman Tyson Barrie had a slow start with the Colorado Avalanche. After getting drafted 64th overall in the 2009 NHL draft, Barrie spent two more seasons with his WHL Kelowna Rockets. He got signed to a professional contract starting in the 2011-12 season, but spent the majority of the season with Colorado AHL affiliate, then the Lake Erie Monsters.

Barrie got a little more Avalanche time during the dismal 2012-13 season, but he failed to make a lasting impression with his 13 points in 32 games.

Interestingly, the 2013-14 season started out similarly with Barrie bouncing back and forth between the Avalanche and the Monsters. At one point head coach Patrick Roy called Barrie out specifically for his lack of play.

At that time, Tyson Barrie says he made a vow to himself to just play his game and see where it led him. If he was going to get cut from the team, it was going to be for playing Barrie-style hockey.

Well, turns out Tyson Barrie’s style of clutch hockey suited the Cardiac Kids just fine. As the Avalanche star rose, so, too, did Barrie’s. He soon developed into a modern-day rover, a diminutive Sandis Ozolinsh with a nose for scoring the clutch goal.

Barrie had so much stock by then that, when he was taken out with a Matt Cooke knee-on-knee special during the playoffs, it was seen as a disaster.

Well, Tyson Barrie, under a new bridge contract, came out strong last season. Though he fell prey to the same slow bug as the majority of the team, he ended up leading all defensemen in points with 53, becoming only the fourth defenseman in franchise history to earn 50+ points in a season. (Ozolinsh, Ray Bourque and Rob Blake are the other three.)

Potential Tyson Barrie Contract

At the conclusion of last season, Avalanche general manager remarked that Tyson Barrie’s (and Nathan MacKinnon‘s) contract extension wasn’t the priority since he’s just going to be an RFA. He reiterated that when mentioning he was in talks with Barrie’s agent, remarking that as an RFA he’s not going anywhere.

Not a lot of urgency there, and maybe there isn’t any real rush. Both sides might want to see how this season plays out, at least up to a point. After all, thus far Barrie has played in three playoff games and made three IIHF Worlds appearances, only one at the major level.

That’s good, but Avalanche execs might want to see if he continues his trajectory. Barrie might want to do the same — he’s still in the stage of his development where he should expect to improve. That can only help his side of the negotiations.

Just for fun, though, what might a Tyson Barrie contract extension be worth at this moment? Should he expect to get a similar amount to the the Calgary Flames’ Dougie Hamilton — $5.75 million? I can’t imagine.

Should he settle for something similar to what Erik Johnson is earning before his big contract kicks in, $3.75 million? That might be a little more reasonable.

Of course, the Colorado Avalanche will be keeping in mind Nathan MacKinnon and his need for a bridge contract. They may just want to keep some cap space clear.

Regardless, what do you think Tyson Barrie’s contract extension might be worth, Avs Nation?

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