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Finally, Tyson Barrie is in the fold.

The Avalanche announced Thursday that the 23-year-old defenseman, who was a restricted free agent, has signed a two-year contract. The Denver Post reported the deal is worth $5.2 million -- $2 million this season and $3.2 million in 2015-16 -- for a salary cap hit of $2.6 million.

Barrie led Avalanche defensemen with 13 goals last season -- the most since John-Michael Liles scored 14 in 2006-07 -- and had 25 assists in 64 games. He had all of his goals and 22 assists in the final 47 games. He averaged 18:32 in ice time for the season and his plus-17 plus/minus rating was third best on the team.

"Tyson is a big part of the young nucleus of our team," Avalanche executive vice president of hockey operations Joe Sakic said in a statement. "He is a gifted young defenseman who brings a lot of offense. We are pleased to have him under contract and look forward to his contribution this upcoming season.”

Barrie tied the single-season franchise record for overtime goals with three. He was the first NHL defenseman to score that many since Atlanta's Dustin Byfuglien had three in 2010-11. Barrie had five game-winning goals.

Barrie, who is 5-feet-10 and 190 pounds, didn't play particularly well in the first four games and he was a healthy scratch for eight of the next nine games. He was sent to Lake Erie in the American Hockey League on Nov. 6, played six games there and was recalled Nov. 17.

Barrie said during the season that it was difficult for him to go back to the Cleveland-based Monsters after coach Patrick Roy touted him as a "top-four" defenseman early in training camp, and he had two assists in his first game back, a 5-1 win against Chicago.

But he didn't have a point in the next 11 games before scoring his first goal in a 6-2 win against the Dallas Stars on Dec. 16, a game that turned his season around.

Barrie's season ended in Game 3 of the Western Conference first-round playoff series against Minnesota when he sustained a knee injury on a hit by Matt Cooke. The Avalanche, who lost the series in seven games, missed Barrie's ability to lead breakouts and on power plays. Cooke was given a seven-game suspension by the NHL.

The Avalanche and Wild will play their first two regular-season games against each other, Oct. 9 in Minnesota and Oct. 11 at the Pepsi Center.

A third-round selection (64th overall) in the 2009 NHL draft, Barrie has 15 goals and 36 assists in 106 regular-season games.

*****

The Avalanche announced Friday that training camp will open Sept. 18 when the veterans report for medical and physical tests. The full squad will be on the ice Sept. 19-20 for practices and scrimmages at the Family Sports Center in Centennial, Colo. Workouts are open to the public and will begin at 9:30 a.m.

Rookie camp will be held Sept. 15-17 at Family Sports. On-ice sessions will begin at 9:45 a.m. and are open to the public.

The Avalanche will play the annual Burgundy and White Game on Sept. 21 at the University of Denver. Faceoff is 11 a.m.

Here's the preseason schedule (all times Mountain time):

Mon Sept. 22 ANAHEIM, Pepsi Center, 7 p.m. (split squad)
Mon Sept. 22 at Anaheim, 8 p.m. (split squad)
Thur, Sept. 25 at Montreal 5:30 p.m.
Fri Sept. 26 Montreal 5 p.m. at Quebec
Sun Sept. 28 CALGARY, Pepsi Center, 6 p.m.
Tue Sept. 30 at Calgary 7 p.m.
Thu Oct. 2 LOS ANGELES 7 p.m. at Colorado Springs
Sat Oct. 4 Los Angeles 8 p.m. at Las Vegas

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