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Montreal Canadiens Lock up Another Young Defenceman

The Montreal Canadiens are keeping the good times rolling and have re-signed defenceman Justin Barron to a contract extension. This comes just hours after announcing the contract extension to Arber Xhekaj. Similar to Xhekaj’s contract, Barron will be signed until the end of the 2025-26 season. The two year deal for Barron will see him paid an average annual value of $1.15 million.

Montreal Canadiens Defenceman Justin Barron Signs Contract Extension

Barron was originally a part of the deal that saw the Canadiens send Artturi Lehkonen to the Colorado Avalanche in March of 2022. Since the trade, Barron has split time with the AHL’s Laval Rocket and the big club in Montreal. He has done a great job of establishing himself as a consistent option on the Canadiens blueline, and this contract is a testament to that fact. In total, Barron has played 94 games in the NHL. He has been productive with 12 goals and 18 assists. Furthermore, the big positive sign, was his jump in ice time year-over-year. In 2022-23, in 39 games for Montreal he was just over 16 minutes a night. Then, last year, he saw that boosted to over 18 and a half minutes. In any sense, he has clearly made himself a necessary option for head coach Martin St. Louis defensive alignment.

What Does This Mean for Montreal’s Young Defence Group

Good things are happening in Montreal. It has been a difficult rebuild in terms of playoff aspirations, however, the young core has been identified. They have plenty of strong prospects in their system. Furthermore, identifying these young pieces, like Barron, that can play important minutes for the Canadiens this year and in the future will be crucial to the team’s success. Defencemen like Xhekaj, or Kaiden Guhle, or Jordan Harris are all around the same age, and will grow and develop together as a close-knit group. Yes there has been growing pains, but watching them at this stage, is an important first step if they are to grow into winners.

Main photo credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

Levi Pike, Editor

Levi Pike, Editor

Levi Pike is an editor and writer here at Last Word on Hockey. He has lived all over Canada but grew up in Nanaimo, BC. Currently, he lives with his loving wife, three kids, and dog in the capital of the Easterly most province of Canada, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. He’s passionate about hockey, in particular, the Ottawa Senators and statistics. He received both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Statistics at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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