The Montreal Canadiens were surprised to learn about the length of Paul Byro’s recovery, and Claude Julien expressed his thoughts on the situation.
The 2018 offseason for the Montreal Canadiens had an interesting but less than ideal theme. It was a summer of procedures for members of the organization. Some were expected, such as Shea Weber‘s (first surgery) as well as Andrew Shaw‘s, and others came out of left field for those who weren’t that informed. Paul Byron‘s fell in between those two extremes.
The 29-year-old was dealing with something towards the end of the season. The Montreal Canadiens would have practices without Byron on the ice as he’d be given a maintenance day. Shaw and Brendan Gallagher had a couple of days off as well, but that’s to be expected after a long season.
That still didn’t the dampen the surprise at learning Byron require surgery. To add on to that was the six-months he would need to recover from it.
The Byron news triggered the first eyebrow raise of the ‘transparency’ era. Montreal Canadiens fans were satisfied with knowing he had a procedure and how long he would be out for. But questions around the situation were still hovering. At the forefront were, when during the year did Byron sustain the injury, and why wasn’t it dealt with when instead of waiting until the summer.
The Athletic’s Arpon Basu tweeted an explanation of the ordeal from head coach Claude Julien.
More from A Winning Habit
- Montreal Canadiens: Biggest Questions Going Into 2023-24
- Montreal Canadiens: Quentin Miller’s Poise And Confidence Fuel His Game
- Montreal Canadiens: Laval Rocket Top Defence Pair Could Be Set
- Montreal Canadiens: Worst Move Of The Pierre Gauthier Era
- Montreal Canadiens: Could Casey DeSmith End Up In Colorado?
According to Julien, Byron felt that the injury wasn’t bad enough and still manageable that he could still be in the lineup. The team initially felt that when it was dealt with, the recovery would be a month or two. However, after the surgical staff finished their work on Byron’s shoulder, the Habs were surprised to learn that it would be an extra four months.
That still doesn’t answer when the injury occurred. The easiest assumption would be Byron being on the bad end of a finished check that tweaked something. But it does explain why the Montreal Canadiens didn’t shut him down for the year despite the fact they were in the bottom ten of the league.
It’s important to emphasize that the players and coaching staff don’t tank (usually). Management generally throws the signs of the forced cliff dive taking place. The players on the ice still want to play and contribute as they can and Byron wanted to play.
If everything goes well with his recovery, the speedy winger (or centre when appropriate) will be back in action in October. Whether that has him on the team at the beginning of the season won’t be known until training camp.
What this Byron story shows is you never know for sure how things are going to play out. Would the Montreal Canadiens have shut him down if they knew the recovery would’ve taken longer? Maybe, but you never truly know until you take a deeper look at the situation.