The Montreal Canadiens’ young blueline was much of the talk throughout the 2022-23 season, and with reason, as the brigade featured up to four rookies at certain times throughout the year.
Growing pains are to be expected, and as such, they did occur, but the promise of the Habs young defenders shone through. From big hits to strong, timely plays, the young guys had a big development season. The Habs blueliners came together and gave a glimpse of the potential that they have.
However, one defenseman seems to have a shorter leash than the rest, at least to some fans. In many future lineups, this defender seems to be left out and disregarded as a part of the future. Justin Barron was in the middle of everything, and his skills allowed him to come along quite nicely.
Was he perfect all the time? Of course not, but neither were the other rookies, and veterans even had miscues. But for some reason, Barron has been widely viewed as nothing more than a depth defender on the right side. Be that as it may, in terms of deployment, I believe that he possesses a toolkit, which will allow him to become a solid two-way d-man, with some offensive punch.
He skates beautifully, using long, powerful strides and great edgework. At 6’2” and 200 lbs, he also has the size to mix it up at the blue line and keep forwards within a stick’s length of him, using his great reach. Offensively, he thinks the game well, and his hard, accurate shot is a constant threat, which could allow him to gain some power play time.
Barron isn’t perfect defensively, but he has the blend of skating, reach, and physical traits to be an adept defender. He has some kinks to iron out, and with a little more focus on slowing down forwards and reducing scoring chances against, he could develop to his potential and be a big part of the Canadiens’ rebuild. I feel that some work with Adam Nicholas will go a long way.
There is certainly no rush for the team to compete for a Stanley Cup next season, so with that, he will have ample time to continue his development. Some familiarity with his defence partner and a healthy season will go a long way in evaluating where Barron is at in his development. I would think 5-10 goals and 15-20 assists would be a nice sweet spot for his potential production in 2023-24, especially with what’s brewing up front on the Canadiens’ offence.
For the doubters of Barron, I think that he will have a great season, and show exactly what the Canadiens did when they requested that he be a part of the package in exchange for Artturi Lehkonen in the trade with the Avalanche.
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