Avalanche Claim Mark Barberio Off Waivers From Montreal

The Colorado Avalanche have claimed defenseman Mark Barberio off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link).

Barberio was waived back in training camp but passed through unclaimed at the time.  Since he had been on Montreal’s roster for more than 30 days while playing in more than 10 games, they had to re-waive him in order to try to send him back to the minors.  Their acquisition of Nikita Nesterov from Tampa Bay last week made him expendable.

The 26 year old has played in 26 games with the Canadiens this season, recording four assists while averaging 15:07 of ice time per night.  He also has the second CF% of anyone on the team, coming in at a strong 55.1.

In his career, Barberio has played in 159 NHL games between the Canadiens and Lightning, recording eight goals and 23 assists while logging 15:29 of ice time per game.  He’s in the first season of a two year, one-way deal that carries a $750K cap hit.

He did last too long on the waiver wire this time around as the Avalanche have top waiver priority by virtue of them being last in the NHL standings.  With Colorado, Barberio will likely contend for a third pairing role on a team that isn’t the deepest on the back end.  He’ll likely take the place of defenseman Eric Gelinas, who was one of a trio of players placed on waivers today.