Barnes was drafted fourth overall by the
Winnipeg Jets in the
1989 NHL entry draft. On November 25, 1993, the Jets traded him along with a sixth round selection (previously acquired from the
St. Louis Blues; Chris Kibermanis) in
1994 to the
Florida Panthers for
Randy Gilhen. In Florida, he was among the leaders on the teams, who helped carry the Panthers to the 1996
Stanley Cup Final, facing the Colorado Avalanche. Then on November 19, 1996, the
Pittsburgh Penguins traded
Chris Wells to the Panthers for Barnes and
Jason Woolley. The trade to the Penguins has been considered the worst in Panthers history. In 1999, Barnes was traded to the
Buffalo Sabres for
Matthew Barnaby. In Buffalo, he went to the Finals again, this time against Dallas, only to lose on a triple-overtime goal by
Brett Hull. He served as the
captain for the Sabres before being traded to the Stars in 2003 for
Michael Ryan and a second round draft pick in the
2003 NHL entry draft. When
Mike Modano was injured during the
2006–07 season, Barnes served as an alternate captain of the Stars. He also served as an alternate captain for most of the
2007–08 season due to
Sergei Zubov's absence from the line-up. Barnes announced his retirement as a player on August 28, 2008 and joined the Stars as an
assistant coach for three seasons before becoming a hockey operations consultant. Barnes left the Stars front office after the
2012–13 season, and went on to serve in a dual capacity as the
Tri-City Americans co-owner in the
Western Hockey League and as the head coach of the Okanagan Academy Prep hockey team. In 2017, Barnes returned to the Dallas Stars organization as an assistant coach. == Career statistics ==