According to Michael Matheson, it will be really intense and the GM will have difficult decisions to make, like letting one or two go.
Why does it make a lot of sense for Justin Barron? Because he doesn't have a contract for next year yet. General managers love to have control over their players' contracts, so naturally, Barron gains value with this simple fact.
On the right side, the Canadiens easily have four defensemen who are ahead of him right now, and I include David Reinbacher. Let's add David Savard, Logan Mailloux, and Johnathan Kovacevic to the mix. Anyway, Martin St-Louis already has a left-handed defenseman playing on the right, which is revealing.