Colorado Avalanche Goals for Core Players in the 2017-18 Season

Tyson Barrie

2016-17 Points: 38 (7 goals, 31 assists)
Career Best Stats: 53 points (12 goals, 41 assists) in 2014-15
2016-17 Shooting Percentage: 3.8%
Special Concern: -29 turnover ratio

Defenseman Tyson Barrie is the Colorado Avalanche’s second-best defenseman, a cornerstone after only Erik Johnson. The 26-year-old is entering what amounts to his sixth full NHL season.

Barrie is known for being a true offensive defenseman. While his positioning and stick work are good, defense is the first thing to go out of his game.

Well, this season Barrie has earned almost veteran status, especially since he’s likely to be paired with a youngster with either just 31 NHL games (Chris Bigras) or 12 NHL games (Anton Lindholm). That means Tyson has to develop a better all-around game.

Here are some goals I’d like to see Barrie reach this season:

• Achieve at least 5% shooting accuracy
• Decrease turnover ratio
• Maintain positive CorsiFor

I’m not an analytics wizard, but my understanding is that Barrie’s 54.3 CorsiFor% and 9.3 relative Corsi are good. Keep it that way, Tyson.

I know I keep harping on Barrie’s turnover ratio, and that a player with so much puck possession is going to turn the puck over more often. However, I’d just like to see him decrease that ratio a little — maybe get at least a little closer to even.

Over the course of his career, Tyson Barrie’s shooting percentage has been 7%, but he was a dismal 3.8% last year. His best season was the (original) Why Not Us year when he achieved 12.9% I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect Barrie to shoot at around 5% or better accuracy.