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The Montreal Canadiens Send Down Michael McCarron and Recall Byron Froese

By Omar L

MONTREAL, QC - SEPTEMBER 29: Montreal Canadiens center Byron Froese (42) skates during the first period of the NHL preseason game between the Florida Panthers and the Montreal Canadiens on September 29, 2017, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - SEPTEMBER 29: Montreal Canadiens center Byron Froese (42) skates during the first period of the NHL preseason game between the Florida Panthers and the Montreal Canadiens on September 29, 2017, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Montreal Canadiens made a late-night transition by sending down Michael McCarron and calling up Byron Froese from the Laval Rocket.

This was one of those moves that was surprising but at the same time expected. The Montreal Canadiens swapped Michael McCarron for Byron Froese on the team after their 3-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights.

McCarron was initially recalled by the Habs along with Nikita Scherbak after Ales Hemsky suffered his concussion. The 2013 1st round pick played in the team’s last seven games and was only able to put up 10 penalty minutes and a total of four shots on goal. He also had a role in Jordie Benn‘s goal in terms of net front presence though. Besides that, McCarron hasn’t done much to add to the team.

Froese has become one of the team leaders in points with the Laval Rocket. He’s been in all 13 of their games putting up 3 goals and 8 assists as the team’s top line center. Additionally, Froese was voted to be Laval’s first captain in team history by his teammates last Friday.

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The 26-year-old has limited NHL experience over his career. His longest stint was a 56-game season with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2016. Froese was used on an energy line and mostly saw time on the bottom six. He’s had a lot more success playing in the AHL putting up at least 40 (total) points in the last two years.

Claude Julien already got a sense of Froese’s compete level in the preseason, but he may end up being a better fit than McCarron because he has more to give offensively.

Froese will most likely be relegated to the fourth line for now. With the injury to Jonathan Drouin, there may be opportunities to play higher in the lineup as Julien moves things around to get the best fit. This will be his third shot in the NHL and it’ll be interesting to see how he fairs this time around.

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How do you think Froese will do with the Montreal Canadiens? Will we see McCarron again later on? Let us know your thoughts down below.

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