Barberio appears headed to Switzerland after playoffs

Mark Barberio and his time with the Avalanche will likely be over when the Avalanche are no longer participating in the 2020 NHL playoffs.

Swiss hockey writer Gregory Beaud shared this on Twitter today:

Lausanne annoncera deux autres joueurs de NHL sitôt leur saison terminée. Lausanne commencera donc la saison avec 5 étrangers. Mark Barberio est l'un des deux. L'autre demeure incertain.

— Grégory Beaud (@GregBeaud) July 28, 2020

Translated to English, that says: “Lausanne will announce two more NHL players as soon as their season ends. Lausanne will therefore start the season with 5 foreigners. Mark Barberio is one of the two. The other remains uncertain.”

Lausanne is a top-tier club in the Swiss pro league, a team that plays in a 10,000 seat arena and is coached by former longtime NHL player and coach, Craig MacTavish. Generally, ex-NHL players can make a few hundred thousand dollars playing in European pro leagues, though the Swiss League doesn’t pay quite the same salaries on par with players in the KHL.

Barberio only played sparingly for the Avs this season, even spending some time with the Colorado Eagles at one point. In 21 games for the Avs, he had two assists and a plus-3. He played some on the wing in his final regular-season game for the Avs, March 12 at home against the Rangers. He is still part of the Avs’ traveling roster to Edmonton and could play for the team still in the postseason.

Last season, Sven Andrighetto had a similar situation with the Avs, where he was still on the playoff roster but had a tentative deal with a KHL club, Amsk, when it was over.

Barberio has been with the Avs since the 2016-17 season and was/is a total class act as a person. He never whined or complained about his up-and-down playing time, though it became a little more clear this year that Barberio wanted more of a chance to play. He should get plenty of that for MacTavish.