Connect with us

Habs Prospects

Canadiens Prospect Justin Barron Could Help Longstanding Issue

Published

on

Canadiens prospect Justin Barron

The Montreal Canadiens announced they recalled defenceman Justin Barron from their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket.

With seven goals and nine assists in 27 games to his credit, Barron is enjoying a very healthy season from an offensive standpoint, and more importantly, he’s found a significant amount of success on the power play.

Five of his goals for the Rocket have taken place with the man advantage, which happens to be the situation in which the Canadiens struggle the most.

The lack of pre-shot movement from the Canadiens has led to very comfortable opposing goaltenders, the complete opposite of what you’d like to see on the power play, seeing as a moving goaltender is a vulnerable goaltender.

Raw Power

Barron doesn’t possess the heaviest slapshot in the league, but he does have an affinity for hitting his target from the blue line, a key component to a healthy power play that has eluded Canadiens defencemen this season.

If Martin St-Louis does decide to use the Halifax native on the power play, it would open up a lot more time and space for Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, and in turn, alleviate some of the factors that make the Canadiens power play incredibly easy to anticipate.

As it stands, the Canadiens’ power play is the epitome of demoralizing.

An event that is supposed to signal a shift in momentum for the team with the most players on the ice has had the polar opposite effect on the Canadiens this season.

Barron should not be expected to immediately fix the worst power play in the NHL over the last five years, but at the very least, his presence should lead to an increase in scoring chances, and consequently, goals.

There are no guarantees Barron will make a positive impact, but statistically speaking, it’s incredibly likely, because the situation on the power play cannot get much worse.