In his first year with the Seals, Christie played 34 games, scoring 14 points, all assists. He followed that with a 78-game season, scoring three goals and 21 points. In 1976-77, the team moved to Cleveland as was re-named the Barons. The change of venue obviously was to Christie's liking as he set career highs in goals, assists, and points, scoring six times and adding 27 assists for 33 points.

Midway through the 1977-78 campaign, Christie was sent to the Colorado Rockies. At the start of the 1979-80 season, coach Don Cherry named him the team captain, which Christie viewed as a mixed blessing. One the one hand he was happy to see that Cherry had so much confidence in his leadership abilities; but, on the other hand, Christie often had self doubts about whether he had the right personality to be a team leader. He opted to accept the position, rationalizing by concluding that the team was really Cherry's anyhow, and he was nothing more than a figure-head leader, someone to relay information so to speak.

One of the most vivid recollections Christie has from his days in Colorado was a fight with 6'5" 235-pound Bill Bennett of the Atlanta Flames. Christie became the target of Bennett's wrath immediately after the Rockies' captain nailed Bennett's teammate Blaine Stoughton with a hard crosscheck into the boards. That's when Bennett charged for him like a mad bull. It was that type of accountability that prompted Cherry into giving him the captaincy in the first place.

Christie played one game with the Rockies in 1980-81 before going to the Vancouver Canucks where his NHL career ended after nine games. He left the NHL having played in 412 games, scoring 15 gals and 116 points, while accumulating 550 points, another aspect which would no doubt please former coach Cherry.