Montreal Canadiens: Paul Byron Could Make Season Debut in Habs Next Game

The Montreal Canadiens have been completely ravaged by injuries this season and a bout of Covid that took out 22 players at various points of December.

The team’s record is awful at 7-24-5 and they sit last in points percentage in the entire National Hockey League. This isn’t what was expected, and it resulted in the firing of general manager Marc Bergevin in late November.

While it’s not supposed to be an excuse (it’s totally an excuse) the Habs have not been able to put the same lineup on the ice in back to back games. It is hard to put together a winning lineup when you can’t put together a full lineup on some nights. The Canadiens have already used 37 players this season.

It sounds like they will soon use their 38th but it is actually a bit of good news. Paul Byron has not played yet this season after undergoing hip surgery in the offseason. He was inching close to a return in late December but then was put in Covid protocol and has been away from the team for a while.

It sounds like he will be rejoining the team today on the road as they prepare to take on the Arizona Coyotes on Monday night. The Canadiens were supposed to be home tonight to play the New Jersey Devils, but they wouldn’t be allowed to have any fans in attendance due to Quebec capacity limits at events. So, the game was postponed until later in the season when they should be able to sell some tickets.

Of course, the 32nd overall team might have a hard time selling tickets whether they are allowed to do so or not.

But with everything that has gone on around this team this season, they could use any healthy NHL regular they can find. Paul Byron is a very reliable one and it sounds like he will finally make his season debut in the Canadiens next game.