After attending his third Avalanche training camp, Barrie made his professional debut in the 2011–12 season, assigned to the Avalanche's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters.
As a defenceman, he impressively led the Monsters in scoring at the midpoint of the season and was selected in the AHL All-Star Game, scoring a goal and helping the Western Conference to victory.
Shortly after, on February 4, 2012, he received his first NHL call-up by the Avalanche.
He made his NHL debut three days later on February 7 in a 5–2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks at the Pepsi Center.
He appeared in four games before he was returned to the Monsters.
He was later recalled to finish the season with ten scoreless games for the Avalanche before he finished the season with the Monsters, leading the club in scoring with 32 points in 49 games.

With the 2012–13 NHL lockout in effect, Barrie began the 2012–13 season with Lake Erie.
As the Monsters' leading offensive defenceman, Barrie was recalled by the Avalanche on January 11, 2013, and made the team's opening night roster for the shortened season.
In his fifth game of the season, a 4–3 shootout victory over the Minnesota Wild on February 14, Barrie registered his first point, an assist, on a goal by Milan Hejduk.
He scored his first NHL goal four days later in a 6–5 victory over the Nashville Predators.
After a brief return to the AHL, Barrie established himself within the top-six on the Avalanche defence.
On March 30, 2013, in another game against the Predators, he became the first Avalanche rookie defenceman to score an overtime winner.
Despite missing the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs, Barrie led all Colorado players in average ice-time and also the defence in scoring with 2 goals, 11 assists and 13 points in 32 games.

In the final year of his rookie contract, Barrie opened the 2013–14 season under new Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy.
After the first month of the season, Barrie was reassigned to the AHL to regain confidence and conditioning.
He contributed with three assists in six games with Lake Erie before he was recalled to Colorado on November 17, 2013, paying immediate dividends in his first game back with two assists in a 5–1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Having secured a role as a top-four defenceman, Barrie broke out offensively to score 13 goals, the highest total for a defenceman since John-Michael Liles seven years prior.
Barrie's three overtime goals matched an Avalanche record in a single season (held by David Jones), and he became the Avalanche career leader amongst defencemen in overtime goals with four.
Ranking second with 25 assists and 38 points, Barrie helped the Avalanche claim their first division title since 2003.
During the 2014 playoffs, after recording two assists in the opening three games, Barrie was the victim of a knee-on-knee hit by Minnesota Wild forward Matt Cooke and missed the remainder of the playoffs with a torn medial collateral ligament (MCL).
Cooke was immediately suspended for the remainder of the matchup as the Avalanche failed to recover in losing the series in 7 games.

After becoming a restricted free agent after the 2013–14 season, on September 4, 2014, Barrie signed a new two-year contract with Colorado worth $5.2 million.
He returned in full-health to begin the 2014–15 season.
Playing primarily alongside Nick Holden, Barrie appeared in a career-high 80 games and finished eighth among league defencemen with 53 points.
On reaching 50 points, Barrie became just the fourth defenceman in Avalanche history to achieve the feat, after Sandis Ozoliņš, Rob Blake and Ray Bourque.
His 37 even-strength points tied a franchise record for defencemen held by Steve Duchesne of the Quebec Nordiques.
Barrie also led all Avalanche skaters in total ice time during the season with 1,709 minutes.
However, Barrie was unable to help Colorado return to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

In the 2015–16 season, Barrie led all Colorado defencemen in scoring with 13 goals and 49 points, also collecting 21 power play points.
In establishing himself as
After attending his third Avalanche training camp, Barrie made his professional debut in the 2011–12 season, assigned to the Avalanche's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters. As a defenceman, he impressively led the Monsters in scoring at the midpoint of the season and was selected in the AHL All-Star Game, scoring a goal and helping the Western Conference to victory. Shortly after, on February 4, 2012, he received his first NHL call-up by the Avalanche. He made his NHL debut three days later on February 7 in a 5–2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks at the Pepsi Center. He appeared in four games before he was returned to the Monsters. He was later recalled to finish the season with ten scoreless games for the Avalanche before he finished the season with the Monsters, leading the club in scoring with 32 points in 49 games.
With the 2012–13 NHL lockout in effect, Barrie began the 2012–13 season with Lake Erie. As the Monsters' leading offensive defenceman, Barrie was recalled by the Avalanche on January 11, 2013, and made the team's opening night roster for the shortened season. In his fifth game of the season, a 4–3 shootout victory over the Minnesota Wild on February 14, Barrie registered his first point, an assist, on a goal by Milan Hejduk. He scored his first NHL goal four days later in a 6–5 victory over the Nashville Predators. After a brief return to the AHL, Barrie established himself within the top-six on the Avalanche defence. On March 30, 2013, in another game against the Predators, he became the first Avalanche rookie defenceman to score an overtime winner. Despite missing the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs, Barrie led all Colorado players in average ice-time and also the defence in scoring with 2 goals, 11 assists and 13 points in 32 games.
In the final year of his rookie contract, Barrie opened the 2013–14 season under new Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy. After the first month of the season, Barrie was reassigned to the AHL to regain confidence and conditioning. He contributed with three assists in six games with Lake Erie before he was recalled to Colorado on November 17, 2013, paying immediate dividends in his first game back with two assists in a 5–1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks. Having secured a role as a top-four defenceman, Barrie broke out offensively to score 13 goals, the highest total for a defenceman since John-Michael Liles seven years prior. Barrie's three overtime goals matched an Avalanche record in a single season (held by David Jones), and he became the Avalanche career leader amongst defencemen in overtime goals with four. Ranking second with 25 assists and 38 points, Barrie helped the Avalanche claim their first division title since 2003. During the 2014 playoffs, after recording two assists in the opening three games, Barrie was the victim of a knee-on-knee hit by Minnesota Wild forward Matt Cooke and missed the remainder of the playoffs with a torn medial collateral ligament (MCL). Cooke was immediately suspended for the remainder of the matchup as the Avalanche failed to recover in losing the series in 7 games.
After becoming a restricted free agent after the 2013–14 season, on September 4, 2014, Barrie signed a new two-year contract with Colorado worth $5.2 million. He returned in full-health to begin the 2014–15 season. Playing primarily alongside Nick Holden, Barrie appeared in a career-high 80 games and finished eighth among league defencemen with 53 points. On reaching 50 points, Barrie became just the fourth defenceman in Avalanche history to achieve the feat, after Sandis Ozoliņš, Rob Blake and Ray Bourque. His 37 even-strength points tied a franchise record for defencemen held by Steve Duchesne of the Quebec Nordiques. Barrie also led all Avalanche skaters in total ice time during the season with 1,709 minutes. However, Barrie was unable to help Colorado return to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
In the 2015–16 season, Barrie led all Colorado defencemen in scoring with 13 goals and 49 points, also collecting 21 power play points. In establishing himself as 
Tyson Barrie