Montreal’s opening-night roster continued to take shape on Wednesday as the club placed blueliner Mark Barbeiro on waivers, per TSN.
Barbeiro, 26, is a Montreal native that broke in with Tampa Bay in 2013 but caught on with the Habs last season, scoring 10 points in 30 games.
With a modest salary ($750,000 cap hit) and good NHL experience -- over 130 games -- it’s quite possible Barberio gets plucked off the wire.
The bigger implications, though, are for those left on Montreal’s defense. There are now eight guys in the mix: Shea Weber, Nathan Beaulieu, Andrei Markov, Jeff Petry, Alexei Emelin, Zach Redmond, Greg Pateryn and rookie phenom Mikhail Sergachev.
More: Prized Habs prospect Sergachev survives another round of cuts
Sergachev, still just 18 years old, has been tantalizing onlookers in Montreal since becoming the second d-man selected in this year’s draft (Vancouver took Olli Juolevi four spots earlier). He starred at prospects camp, and impressed in his preseason debut against Ottawa.
“He played a great first game,” head coach Michel Therrien told the CP of Sergachev’s debut, in which the Russian rearguard played nearly 20 minutes. “He played with a lot of confidence for a young player. He was composed with the puck, never got rid of it for no reason.
“He was poised, he’s a good skater and he’s strong. He’s a heck of a hockey player.”
Montreal could still send Sergachev back to OHL Windsor, which is likely what’ll happen. That said, the club could keep him around for a nine-game cameo at the NHL level, and give him a taste of the big leagues.