BROSSARD, Que. — This was an easy call for the Montreal Canadiens.
They had a chance to add some experience to their lineup, a right-handed defenceman who can play as high up in the depth chart as they need him to, a player who can help stabilize what’s been an unstable position from the start of the season, and all it cost them was a player they worked hard to coach up but ultimately couldn’t rely on.
So they traded 23-year-old Justin Barron to the Nashville Predators for 28-year-old defenceman Alex Carrier on Wednesday.
Barron was thought to have been the key part of the return in the 2021 trade that sent Artturi Lehkonen to the Colorado Avalanche. The Canadiens obtained a second-round pick, as well, but they were hoping this young, right-handed defenceman from Nova Scotia could one day fulfill the promise that saw him drafted 25th overall in 2020.
It may happen in Nashville, but it didn’t happen in Montreal — and didn’t appear likely to, either.
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The Canadiens, who were counting on David Savard as their only other right-handed defenceman, scratched Barron in favour of playing two left-handers out of position in 11 of 31 games this season. He missed three more games with a concussion and, when he was healthy enough to play, he was used sparingly.
Barron may have averaged 14:43 through his 17 games this season, but he played less than 14:20 in more than half of them. He was down as low as 10:52 in his return from the devastating hit Jacob Trouba hurt him with on Oct. 22, and he didn’t play more than 14:09 over any of his last six games in a Canadiens uniform.
Carrier, who’s coming off an upper-body injury that limited him to 15:39 in a game against the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 7, hadn’t played less than 17:12 in any of his other 27 games with the Predators this season. He’s averaged at least that much in each of his five full seasons in the NHL, topping out at close to 21 minutes per game in 2021-22 but never dipping below 17:53.
It speaks to the five-foot-11, 174-pounder’s reliability, which has been far more evident over Carrier’s entire tenure than it has been this season.
It hasn’t been a fun ride in Nashville for any of the Predators through the first portion of the calendar, and Carrier is no exception. He had a goal and six assists through 28 games and was minus-14 before this latest injury hit.
But the Quebec City native is cleared to return, and he told French-language hockey podcast La Poche Bleue on Wednesday night that he’s elated to be coming to the Canadiens.
“It’s a childhood dream to play for Montreal, so I’m super excited,” Carrier said.
“Just the thought of jumping on the ice at the Bell Centre with Coldplay blaring, that’s also a childhood dream,” he added. “I still can’t believe this actually happened. It’s surreal. But the reality will hit later and tomorrow.”
The Canadiens will welcome Carrier into the fold in Detroit Thursday evening, and Martin St. Louis said the plan is to play him against the Red Wings on Friday.
There’s no doubt his addition creates a level of flexibility the coach hasn’t quite had since the season started.
“I think it makes our group back there deeper bringing that experience that he has,” St. Louis said. “I think it helps the PK. I think it helps how to manage the bench on the road. I think it gives us depth to come in waves more and not feel worried about matchups so much because I know he can play against top lines. So, I think it’s going to help us.”
That Carrier is under contract for two more years after this one — with an annual cap hit of $3.75 million — doesn’t hurt, either.
It was not only beneficial to the Canadiens in keeping the acquisition price low, but it will likely also help them buy whatever time right-handers Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher require to continue developing in the American Hockey League.
If, and when, either recent first-rounder is ready to jump up to the NHL — it might take longer for Reinbacher, who suffered a knee injury during exhibition play that is likely to keep him out of action this season — they’ll also be better insulated by Carrier’s presence.
That presence helps keep Savard in the role he should be in. It also guarantees young defencemen Lane Hutson, Kaiden Guhle and Arber Xhekaj are each paired with veterans. And it enables the Canadiens to play only one of their lefthanders out of position.
Matheson, who’s one of those lefties who’s had to play on the right of late, knows the value of that.
“I think there’s a reason lefties tend to play the left side and righties play the right side,” he said. “You make do with what you have, but I think just naturally it adds an element for sure.”
Matheson also said: “I think it’s definitely not ideal when you have five lefties in the lineup and one righty.”
It’s also not ideal when you have four lefties in there and only one righty you trust to put on the ice often enough to make a difference.
That’s the situation the Canadiens were in with Barron, and the one they got out of in trading him for Carrier.
He has played in all situations, he excels on the penalty kill, he’s had seasons of 20 and 30 points and he’s coming home to help the team he always cheered for.
It should make Carrier comfortable right off the hop.
“I live in Montreal,” he said on Wednesday’s podcast. “I’ve calculated that I can walk to the Bell Centre.”
The Canadiens didn’t have to put much thought into having Carrier come play with them there.
