HabsWorld.net -- 

Defenceman Mark Barberio cleared demotion waivers on Thursday.  The Habs have subsequently assigned him to St. John’s of the American Hockey League.

Barberio joined the Canadiens in the 2015 offseason, signing a one year, two-way contract.  He didn’t make the team out of training camp and cleared waivers, allowing him to start the season in St. John’s.  A strong start with the IceCaps (20 points in just 26 games) earned him a recall to the big club late in December (plus an AHL All-Star nod).

While he didn’t see a ton of action early on, Barberio eventually worked himself into a regular role (particularly as injuries depleted the back end).  He wound up getting into 30 games, picking up two goals and eight assists while averaging 14:00 per game in ice time.

This summer, GM Marc Bergevin signed Barberio to a two year, $1.5 million extension with a one-way salary.  However, newcomer Zach Redmond was better than him in the preseason and beat out the Montreal native for a spot.

In the meantime, Barberio will immediately become St. John’s top blueliner, giving them some much needed help offensively while strengthening their depth as well.

The Canadiens have 26 players remaining in training camp:

G (3) – Mike Condon, Al Montoya, Carey Price

D (8) –Nathan Beaulieu, Alexei Emelin, Andrei Markov, Greg Pateryn, Jeff Petry, Zach Redmond, Mikhail Sergachev, Shea Weber

F (15) – Sven Andrighetto, Paul Byron, Daniel Carr, Phillip Danault, David Desharnais, Brian Flynn, Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher, Artturi Lehkonen, Michael McCarron, Torrey Mitchell, Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec, Alexander Radulov, Andrew Shaw

The Habs must be in compliance with the 23-man roster limit by late Tuesday afternoon.