Avalanche claim Mark Barberio off waivers from Canadiens

The Colorado Avalanche have claimed Montreal Canadiens' defenceman Mark Barberio off waivers. (Matt Slocum/AP)

The Colorado Avalanche have claimed defenceman Mark Barberio off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens.

The Avalanche then put defenceman Eric Gelinas on waivers.

Barberio has split time between the Canadiens and their AHL affiliate, the St. John’s IceCaps, the past two seasons.

In 26 games this year, the rearguard has four assists and 10 penalty minutes.

Montreal was forced to put Barberio on waivers to make room for the recently acquired Nikita Nesterov and the return of Alex Galchenyuk and Andrei Markov from injured reserve.

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