Kent Hughes is batting 1.000 for contracts with current Canadiens.
Kent Hughes is batting 1.000 for contracts with current Canadiens.
I feel like I've written time and time again this off-season about the importance of setting up a healthy salary structure on the Montreal Canadiens' blueline and when the Arber Xhekaj deal was announced, I was surprised at how low the annual average value was.
It was clear to me that Justin Barron's deal should be coming under Xhekaj's in terms of both value and AAV, but when I saw the terms of the latter's deal, I wondered if Hughes was of a different opinion. The AAV was so low that I asked myself if it was possible for the GM to sign the former to anything lower.
I didn't have to wonder for long though as the Barron deal was announced hours after Xhekaj's and I realized my concern was unjustified as Hughes somehow managed to make it work. As I've said about the Xhekaj contract in another article, this bridge deal gives Hughes not only the time to assess not only the player's progress but also the role they'll be playing if any when the next crop of defenders graduates.
Barron might once have been a rare breed in the Canadiens' organization as a right-shot defenseman but with Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher arriving shortly, that will be less of an ace up his sleeve. Especially as Kaiden Guhle has shown himself capable of playing on his off-side.
Should Mailloux and Reinbacher have a smoother progression and more conclusive arrival in the NHL, Barron could soon find himself on the outside looking in. If that's the case and Hughes wants to trade him, the low AAV will certainly come in handy.
It's quite hard to say right now who the Canadiens' sixth blueliner will be when the dust settles and they've all graduated to the NHL. One thing's for certain though, they won't carry on playing musical chairs for much longer, this rotation system is fine for evaluation purposes, keeping a surplus asset just for the sake of having a rotation would be a waste. If they could fetch a decent return that is and fills another organizational need.
At this early stage though, if Lane Hutson, Mailloux and Reinbacher all live up to the expectations, I could see Barron being on his way out of town since he has fallen short so far. Whichever way you look at it though, the future looks bright on the Canadiens' blueline.
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