Avalanche claim Mark Barberio off waivers from Canadiens
The reeling Colorado Avalanche have dipped into the waiver pool for help on the blue line.
The club claimed defenseman Mark Barberio, who was waived Wednesday by the Montreal Canadiens.
The 26-year-old was drafted 152nd overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2008, and has spent more time in the AHL than in the NHL since that time.
When given a chance, first by Tampa Bay and then by Montreal, Barberio has proven to be a positive possession player, and clearly Colorado liked what they saw from the left-hand shot, who has averaged 0.66 points per game in the minors.
Reminder: Barberio does have one more year on his contract (750K)...Good for the Avalanche.
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) February 2, 2017
The Canadiens also have a bit more cap space to work with down the stretch.
With Barberio's remaining cap hit off the books, #Habs now have $894,336 in projected cap space, equivalent to a $4M cap hit at the deadline
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) February 2, 2017
In a corresponding move, the Avalanche waived defenseman Eric Gelinas.