Bad news for Justin Barron and the Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens got rid of a defenseman in the trade that sent Jeff Petry to Detroit, but the organization is welcoming another who made the opposite journey in Gustav Lindstrom.
This 24-year-old Swede is a right-handed defenseman who already has 124 NHL games under his belt. He's very likely to secure a spot with the main team, having not played in the AHL since the 2020-2021 season.
With both David Savard and Johnathan Kovacevic already on the right side of the defense, adding a regular defenseman like Lindstrom turns out to be quite the bad news for young Justin Barron.
At 21 years old, even though he showed promise last year with the Habs after being called up from Laval, Lindstrom's arrival indicates that everything will be reset for Barron, who will once again have to fight hard to secure a spot in the regular lineup come October.
In a context where both Michael Matheson and Savard's spots are guaranteed, and considering that Lindstrom, Kovacevic, and Chris Wideman would have to go through waivers to head to Laval, this greatly influences the decisions. Kaiden Guhle's spot in Montreal is assured, and the same could be said for Jordan Harris and Arber Xhekaj.
This leaves us with Barron. Given the crowded defense when everyone is healthy, even though Wideman could spend the entire season in the press box without much issue, Lindstrom might weigh heavily in the decision to send Barron and his waiver-exempt contract back to Laval.
Personally, if I had to choose, I'd prefer to see Barron develop in Montreal over Lindstrom. He has real potential to become an essential member of the Habs' future top-4 and is a rare right-handed offensive defenseman on the team.
However, I fully understand that the upcoming season might be another transitional one for the 2020 first-round pick.
| POLL | ||
Who would you keep out of the lineup? | ||
| Kovacevic | 20 | 32.8 % |
| Barron | 13 | 21.3 % |
| Lindstrom | 28 | 45.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
