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Habs waive Barberio, who could be a useful pickup

Montreal Canadiens v Anaheim Ducks

ANAHEIM, CA - MARCH 02: Mark Barberio #45 of the Montreal Canadiens looks on during a game against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on March 2, 2016 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

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Montreal continued to re-jig its blueline on Wednesday, placing Mark Barberio on waivers.

Barberio, 26, is in the first of a two-year deal that pays $750,000 annually. He’s split this season between the Habs and their minor-league affiliate in St. John’s, and was picked to represent the IceCaps at the AHL All-Star Game.

At the NHL level, Barberio’s appeared in 26 games this year, notching four assists while posting pretty solid possession metrics. He’s also averaging just over 15 minutes per night.

Given he’s relatively inexpensive and has pretty good experience for a 26-year-old -- over 150 career games with Tampa Bay and Montreal -- it’s possible he could get scooped up by a team looking for depth on the back end.

Of course, the Habs also recently placed another relatively young, relatively experienced d-man on waivers in Zach Redmond. Redmond, a 28-year-old with 130 games on his resume, cleared Monday and was dispatched to the minors.

The waiving of Barberio and Redmond came after Montreal acquired d-man Nikita Nesterov from Tampa Bay, and learned of Andrei Markov’s return to health.