Barberio helped the Colorado Avalanche go 43-30-9 and earn the second wild card into the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference one season after finishing last in the NHL (22-56-4). The defenseman was rewarded with a two-year contract on May 15, 2018.

Claimed off waivers by Colorado from the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 2, 2017, Barberio has 53 points (13 goals, 40 assists) in 239 NHL games with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Canadiens and Avalanche. A sixth-round pick (No. 152) of the Lightning in the 2008 NHL Draft, Barberio set an NHL career-high with 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in 2017-18 despite missing 36 games with an upper-body injury. He had one assist and averaged 22:18 of ice time in Colorado's six-game loss to the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference First Round.

Barberio played four seasons with Cape Breton and Moncton in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He was named to the QMJHL All-Rookie Team in 2006-07 and ended his junior career with a second all-start team selection in 2009-10 before signing a three-year contract with the Lightning on May 28, 2010.

Barberio enjoyed success in the American Hockey League prior to joining the Lightning at the end of the 2012-13 season. He won the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL's top defenseman in 2011-12, when he helped Norfolk win 28 straight games en route to winning the Calder Cup with a four-game sweep of Toronto.