Avalanche's Barrie hoping to remain with the team 'for a long time'

The Colorado Avalanche are working to re-sign defenseman Tyson Barrie, who remains a restricted free agent. The 23-year-old was the victim of a knee-on-knee hit from Minnesota Wild winger Matt Cooke that knocked him out of the playoffs.

Barrie was expected to miss four-to-six weeks with an MCL injury, and is working on getting healthy.

"I think (the injury) was one of the toughest things I've ever had to deal with in hockey," He said. "It was so exciting, my first NHL playoffs. To have to be on the sidelines watching for the rest of it was pretty tough."

The Avalanche lost game 7 in overtime, but Barrie is looking forward to next season, which he hopes to spend in Colorado.

"Hopefully I'll be a part of it for a long time and we can make some noise in the playoffs in the future."

Barrie scored 38 points in 64 games last season, including two assists in three playoff games.