Carrier vs Barron : not as one-sided as initially thought

Crédit: Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images

Kent Hughes rolled his counterpart with the Blackhawks in the dump by going after Kirby Dach for (roughly) Alexander Romanov.

This is roughly what everyone was saying about three years ago, when the Canadiens, Islanders, and Blackhawks made a deal in the hours leading up to the amateur draft.

Except that today, this certainty is a bit less certain, let’s put it that way. Romanov is playing on the Islanders’ top pair and is doing more than his job, while Kirby Dach has been raising more question marks than crowds for the past 18 months.

When Hughes managed to get his hands on Justin Barron (and more) in return for Artturi Lehkonen, several Montreal experts were telling everyone that Kent Hughes had screwed the Avalanche. Two years later, those same experts were saying the opposite.

Both in terms of transactions and the amateur draft, it seems we forget to take a step back before analyzing the actions and decisions made by our team. How many times do we read analyses of the amateur draft… the day after the first round? As if it was at that exact moment that we would be able to know who made the best selections…

Justin Barron vs Alexandre Carrier
In Montreal’s recent hockey history, we had the same reaction to the Justin Barron vs Alexandre Carrier trade.

“Kent Hughes rolled Barry Trotz in the flour by going after Carrier for Barron!”

Yes, everything indicates that the trade will work out for the Canadiens, both in the short and long term, but is it possible that the Predators didn’t get taken advantage of as much as we thought?

I’ll explain.

After a few tough games – he was even criticized by a teammate -, Justin Barron seems to have found his groove in Nashville.

Barron has been playing nearly 20 minutes per game for a few weeks, including on the top power play with Roman Josi.

He has collected five points in his last 10 games.

All of this while playing for a team that’s having a lot of difficulties.

In short, Barron, 23, is possibly playing the best hockey of his career in Nashville. We could talk about a resurrection, but I’d be more comfortable with the term “professional birth”, like…

Justin Barron is finally emerging (for real?) in Nashville.
(Credit: Getty Images)

Remember that Sidney Crosby has already talked about Justin Barron as an excellent hockey player. He knows what he’s talking about, Sid the Kid.

Be careful! I’m not saying the Canadiens got taken advantage of with this trade and/or that Carrier is not a good player. I just want to remind people not to jump to conclusions that are too hasty or too focused on the short term (recency bias).

You can use this last paragraph with Juraj Slafkovsky too.

After 30 games last year: Slafkovsky is a bust.

At the end of the 2023-24 season: Slafkovsky is top-notch. He deserves $10 million per season. He’s finally found himself.

After 50 games this year: Slafkovsky is (again) a bust. The Canadiens should have chosen Logan Cooley or Shane Wright.

Since Saturday: Slafkovsky is playing like Brady Tkachuk. The Canadiens are lucky to have him.

You see where I’m going with this?

Let’s call it the duty of reserve…

in a burst

– Official.

– Incredible.

– The Four Nations Face-off has left its mark.