The next defenseman to be traded off the Habs has likely emerged
Photo credit: The Athletic
Stéphane Waite, the former Montreal Canadiens goaltending coach, has recently announced who he believes will be the young defenseman traded by Kent Hughes soon.
Due to the rapid emergence of Lane Hutson and Logan Mailloux, along with the arrival of David Reinbacher into the Canadiens' fold, according to the former coach, there's one name at the top of the list of players likely to depart, and that's Justin Barron.
However, Waite provided a specific explanation on 98.5 Sports about why he believes Barron will leave the team.
«Lane Hutson has exceptional talent and is going to be a special player. But our problem at the start of the season will be someone like Justin Barron. He's on the verge of making the team, but he has to go through waivers. If we send him to waivers, he's gone. That's clear and straightforward! So, I would have him start the year in Montreal to show he has a good start to the season and then trade him. After that, you bring Hutson back to Montreal for the rest of the season. I have no problem with Lane Hutson playing a month in Laval. It's just going to be good for him.» - Stéphane Waite
Given that the 2020 first-round pick will be eligible for waivers next season, this may force the Canadiens management to trade his services.
As we have seen this year with Cayden Primeau, Hughes hates to lose an asset unnecessarily, especially by risking losing it for nothing on waivers.
The problem with Barron is that due to the significant number of defensemen who can legitimately compete for a spot in Montreal, the fact that he cannot go directly back to Laval becomes an additional administrative concern.
While Waite talks about having him start the year with the Canadiens and trying to trade him afterwards, I believe that Hughes will not wait for next season to include him in a trade this summer.
Barron, 22 years old, the 25th overall pick in 2020, is a right-handed defenseman who has accumulated 30 points in 94 career NHL games, including 12 goals.
| POLL |
24 AVRIL | 202 ANSWERS The next defenseman to be traded off the Habs has likely emerged Which defenseman would you trade first? |
| Logan Mailloux | 8 | 4 % |
| Justin Barron | 103 | 51 % |
| Jordan Harris | 91 | 45 % |
| LIST OF POLLS |
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