The Colorado Avalanche are rolling and so is defenseman Tyson Barrie, who was named the NHL’s Third Star of the week on Monday morning.
Barrie, who’s playing on the final year of his contract, had one of the best weeks of his career and one of the best weeks an Avalanche defenseman has ever had. At the least, it’s the best week an Avalanche defenseman has had in over five years.
@tysonbarrie is 1st #Avs defenseman to be named one of NHL’s Three Stars of Week since John-Michael Liles from Nov. 15-21, 2010 @hoosierjm26
— Brendan McNicholas (@bmcnich) January 11, 2016
Barrie’s week was highlighted by his four-point (two goals; two assists) performance against the Los Angeles Kings last Monday. And if that sounds like a rare occurrence for a defenseman, it is. The last time an Avalanche defenseman recorded four points in a single game was all the way back in November, 2003, when Derek Morris scored a goal and added three assists. In fact, only three Avalanche defenseman have ever reached that mark.
He then went on to add an assist against the Blues and another goal against the Predators, giving him a total of six points on the week, second in the NHL.
Barrie now sits with 29 points on the season (seven goals; 22 assists), putting him on pace for 72 points (14 goals; 58 assists), which would be a career high.
As stated before, Barrie is in the final year of his contract and will likely demand a hefty price this offseason. And while that could be a distraction for Barrie and the Avalanche, neither is letting contract discussions get in the way of winning hockey.
“All quiet,” Barrie said, via Terry Frei of The Denver Post. “I’m just worrying about playing. … It’s not off the table, but I don’t know of any real talks going on. I’m comfortable just playing and helping the team win and whenever that sorts itself out, it does. That’s part of the business. I want to be here and I hope they want to have me here, and I’m sure we’ll get something done eventually.”
If he keeps playing like this, the Avalanche will have no choice but to “get something done eventually.”