The NHL’s Frozen Frenzy on Tuesday night saw more than its share of hits, goals, and intense hockey action, unfortunately some of those hits resulted in injury. For the Montreal Canadiens, their defenceman Justin Barron is out with an upper-body injury following a big blow from the New York Rangers Jacob Trouba. The Rangers defenceman is known for delivering big blows and this one caught Barron. It wasn’t a dirty hit, but a combination of Barron not watching and Trouba’s big impact, caused Barron to be injured. The Canadiens did announce today that Barron is listed as just day-to-day.
The Montreal Canadiens Defenceman Justin Barron Has Upper-Body Injury
It has already been reported that Trouba will not receive any additional discipline for the hit. Despite the hit contacting Barron in the head, Barron had his head down, so the hit itself was not punishable.
Terrible to see Justin Barron take a hit like that and see him being helped off after also smacking his head on the ice. Scary.
Watching it in both fast and slow motion, though, I don't expect Jacob Trouba to face any supplementary discipline for it.— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) October 23, 2024
This season thus far, Barron is finally hoping to establish himself into an NHL regular. This is Barron’s fourth season playing in the NHL, and he still only has 101 games under his belt. Last year he split time between the AHL team, the Laval Rocket (32 games), and the big club (48 games). Then, in the offseason, he inked himself a new, two-year, $2.3 million contract. Therefore, he had the backing of the organization that he would be in the NHL this year. So far that has been the case, as Barron has played in all the club’s seven games until this injury hit.
What Does this Mean for the Montreal Canadiens Defence?
Barron has seen an important role with the club in 2024-25. He has been paired with Mike Matheson or Arber Xhekaj for a good chunk of the season. Especially when paired with Matheson, this can mean for tough matchups to contend with on the ice. Therefore, along with the level of responsibility, but also his position, playing the right side, this injury won’t necessarily be easy for Montreal to adjust to appropriately. A veteran like David Savard will no doubt see a little more responsibility pushed on to his plate.
Moreover, look for this to be an opportunity for their young players. Logan Mailloux is the main guy to watch in this regard. Mailloux has proven himself at the AHL level, now he might see some tough, top-four matchups with the Habs. In any case, it does sound like the injury to Barron isn’t too significant, and he will be back in his spot on the team’s defence soon.
Montreal has seen more than its fair share of injuries already it seems. Losing sniper Patrik Laine for a few months from a pre-season injury was not the way they wanted the season to start. More recently, the Canadiens announced earlier this week that Juraj Slafkovsky will be out at least a week. The Habs blueline was already suffering with the injury to Kaiden Guhle. It is as though the Habs are being faced with unfair adversity. However, maybe that’s a good thing for the young group’s development, maybe, it will make them all stronger because of it. The sooner they can move on from the organizational rebuild, the better.
Main Photo Credit: Marc DesRosiers – USA TODAY Sports
