Is it the end of Justin Barron with the Canadiens? Hughes will move

It smells like the end for Justin Barron with the Canadiens. Kent Hughes definitely has to make some choices on defense.

Indeed, there are 12 defensemen aspiring to play in the NHL who should be present at the next Canadiens training camp. Kent Hughes won't be able to sign or send them all to Laval.

Here is the list:

Mike Matheson
David Savard
Kaiden Guhle
Arber Xhekaj
Jordan Harris
Johnathan Kovacevic
Jayden Struble
Justin Barron
Logan Mailloux
David Reinbacher
Lane Hutson
Adam Engstrom


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.

So it really smells like the end for Barron in Montreal, but Kent Hughes won't let him go for nothing. He still has good potential and he's a former first-round pick.