Ahead of the Montreal Canadiens divisional battle against the Toronto Maple Leafs the club made a couple of moves.
Defensemen Kaiden Guhle (upper body, day-to-day) and Arber Xhekaj (upper body, further update to come pending evaluation) will not be available to play tonight. Defenseman Justin Barron was recalled from the Laval Rocket (emergency recall).#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/MZjrbgau4k
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) April 6, 2024
Arber Xhekaj and Kaiden Guhle were both ruled out for the game with upper body injuries. With that news, the club called up defenseman Justin Barron from the Laval Rocket. Barron began the season with the Canadiens but struggled to maintain his spot.
I can't be convinced that Barron has been playing better than Mailloux. Has the club made a decision not to call up Mailloux this season no matter what? Hopefully; it's because they think that Laval winning today is more important, and he gives them the best chance.
— Grant McCagg (@grantmccagg) April 6, 2024
He has played solid hockey since being demoted, but I believe there is an argument to be made for somebody else to take his spot. Logan Mailloux has been one of the brightest spots on the Rocket roster. Mailloux possesses all of the tools that could see him develop into a fine top-four defender.
Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?
Now, I know we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves, especially when you take into account the difference between the NHL and the AHL. Mailloux also isn’t averse to making defensive mistakes, he is a rookie after all. But he has proven to be an important piece for the Laval blueline, and what do the Canadiens have to lose?
It’s meant as no knock on Barron, nor as a punishment, but I believe Mailloux would benefit from dipping his toes in the NHL waters. Likewise, Barron would have had a bit more fire in his belly heading into the offseason, after seeing the younger Mailloux leapfrog him.
The move has been made and the Rocket need Mailloux’s offense something fierce. Especially Jakub Dobes who gave it his all against the Syracuse Crunch, but ended up losing due to an anemic offensive performance from the team in front of him. I think the move helps Laval more than it does Montreal, but what do I know?
It seems weird to promote the player who hasn’t played as well, but then again the Rocket are dangling to their playoff hopes by a thread. Mailloux is more likely to score a goal or create a play than Barron is. But in the midst of it all, it’s odd to promote the player who hasn’t performed better.
Either way, what’s done is done and hopefully, Barron has some wind under his sails from the promotion. The Lord knows the Canadiens could use a goal and what better way to gain some confidence than put a tally on the board in your return to the lineup? It’s been another tough season, so anywhere that a positive can emerge, we’ll take it, right?
Training camp will be interesting in late September, that’s one thing that can be certain.