Canadiens: Three Teams Who Could Claim Paul Byron

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Montreal Canadiens winger Paul Byron finds himself on waivers this morning.

It was a bit of a surprising announcement to see the Habs veteran hit the waiver wire yesterday afternoon, but he is now free for the taking.

Well, certainly not free. He does have a $3.4 million cap hit for the rest of this season and the following two years as well. But the acquisition cost would be free as any team in the league can put a claim in on him today and get the player for nothing in return.

It will be interesting to see if anyone decides to take Byron from the Canadiens. The 31 year old is not off to best offensive start, but he still provides plenty of value to a team. He is an assistant captain, proven leader, solid penalty killer and still one of the fastest players in the game to this day.

There is no question that Byron still belongs on an NHL roster. the only problem is trying to fit his rather large cap hit into a team’s salary structure. He is playing on the fourth line for the Canadiens right now, and though they are a defensively sound and fast trio, Byron, Jake Evans and Artturi Lehkonen are not producing much offence.

Byron has not scored yet this season and has three assists in 14 games. Still, he provides value as a veteran who plays a terrific defensive game and can help lead a team’s penalty kill while providing invaluable mentorship to young players.

There are plenty of teams that could use Paul Byron in their lineup, but not all of them can fit in his contract. There are a few teams who have the cap space and the need for a player like Byron.

Here are the three teams most likely to claim Paul Byron off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens today.

SUNRISE, FL – DECEMBER 29: Paul Byron Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images) /

Florida Panthers

The Florida Panthers have already claimed one player from the Canadiens this season when they nabbed Noah Juulsen on the waiver wire before opening night.

With right shot defensemen Aaron Ekblad, Mac Weegar, Anton Stralman, and Radko Gudas already on the roster, it didn’t seem to make a ton of sense to add Juulsen, but they did. A veteran left winger would make even more sense for them.

The Panthers are off to a great start to the season but could use a little more depth up front. While Jonathan Huberdeau and Carter Verhaege are putting up points on the left side, Frank Vatrano, Ryan Lomberg and Juho Lammikko have combined for just four points in 22 games while playing third or fourth line left wing.

The Panthers could use a trusted veteran winger like Byron on their third line. He would provide sound defensive play on a line with 21 year old Eetu Luostarinen and 22 year old Owen Tippett, allowing the two young kids to trust their instincts offensively.

The Panthers have plenty of cap space, and could add a player making close to $5 million right now, so fitting in Byron would be no problem.

Rick Dudley was the Canadiens Senior Vice President when the Habs claimed Byron off waivers from the Calgary Flames. It worked out pretty good. Dudley is now a Senior Advisor for the Panthers and could be interested in adding Byron for nothing once again.

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – FEBRUARY 25: Paul Byron Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /

New Jersey Devils

The New Jersey Devils added a few pieces last season in an attempt to make the postseason and they failed miserably. They have some terrific young pieces to build around, like Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes, but they just weren’t ready to carry a team last year.

They look a lot closer to being ready to do so this season. Hughes is scoring at nearly a point per game pace and Mackenzie Blackwood was phenomenal in the few games he did play.

The Devils have only player nine games this season as they have been dealing with an outbreak of Covid-19. They are 4-3-2 in those games and look to be a contender to make the playoffs in a really tough division.

One area they need a lot of help in is on the penalty kill. They have the league’s worst PK% at 67.7 this season. Well, that just so happens to be an area where Paul Byron excels. He has been a force on the penalty kill ever since he arrived in Montreal in 2015 and would be a huge help there for the Devils.

Cap space would not be an issue at all as only three teams are spending less money on players this season. Another veteran winger for the bottom six who is a specialist on the penalty kill would help the Devils down the stretch of what is going to be a very busy schedule after a handful of cancellations early in the season.

OTTAWA, ON – FEBRUARY 22: Paul Byron Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images) /

Ottawa Senators

While it is no guarantee that Byron gets claimed today, the team most likely to put a bid in would be the Ottawa Senators. And, since they are terrible, they would have first dibs on grabbing a player from the waiver wire.

The Senators have been awful this season, but that doesn’t surprise anyone. They knew they were bringing along a lot of young players and would have growing pains this season. What they didn’t know was the handful of veterans they brought in to guide the young players would all fail miserably.

The Senators traded a second round pick for Derek Stepan to come in and be a veteran leader for this young team. Stepan has as many trade requests (1) as goals in 15 games and has just four points. He wants to be traded back closer to his family in Arizona as soon as possible.

The Sens also brought in Braydon Coburn and Cedric Paquette from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Paquette had one point in eight games and was just traded to the Carolina Hurricanes. Coburn had one point in eight games before being placed on waivers and then moved to the taxi squad to make room for Erik Brannstrom.

So, with all of those veterans out, or wanting out, it would make sense to bring in another one. Byron is from Ottawa and played his Junior hockey across the bridge in Gatineau. He would be an excellent mentor for a very young team like the Senators.

Byron’s cap hit would not be a problem for the Sens who are 30th in payroll this season. In fact, if they plan on trading Stepan, they need to add some money to stay above the cap floor. Claiming Byron would make it easier to move Stepan sooner, though I don’t think they’ll be getting their second round pick back.

Next. The many travels of Alex Galchenyuk. dark

It’s quite possible that Byron’s contract ensures he doesn’t get claimed at all. But there are several teams who will be considering it today, and none of them make more sense than the Ottawa Senators.

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