By JD Lagrange – The Montreal Canadiens have announced that they have called up right-handed defenseman Justin Barron to join them on their west coast trip. Last week, they had sent Rem Pitlick down to Laval and had called up Anthony Richard.

You will recall that just prior to the current road trip, I wanted the Canadiens to call some players up. Here’s what I was suggesting at the time:

To Laval:

• Jordan Harris
• Michael Pezzetta

To the World Juniors:

• Juraj Slafkovsky

To Montreal:

• Justin Barron
• Anthony Richard
• Jesse Ylönen

Since then, Mike Matheson went straight back to the injury list, so leaving Harris’ position safe for the moment. And I still believe that the Canadiens have erred by not sending Slafkovsky to the World Juniors where he could have had quality ice time at a high level, reuniting with his good buddy Filip Mesar, playing in a leadership role, something he hasn’t done since Midget hockey. It would have allowed to bring up Ylönen, who has been one of the hottest Rocket’s players in recent weeks.

After a slow start to the season after being cut by the Canadiens, Barron has 16 points in 25 games so far this season in Laval and was their top defensemen recently, prior to an injury that kept him out of the line-up for a couple of games. Perhaps he can help give the Canadiens’ power play a heartbeat as it has been on life support for way too long.

The Canadiens will be in Tampa Bay on Wednesday, before playing the Panthers in Florida on Thursday, then in Washington on Saturday in a New Year’s Eve clash. They will end their trip in Nashville on January 3rd before returning to the Bell Centre to face the Rangers on January 5th. 

More reading…

• Habs Boxing Day Sale by JD Lagrange
• By The Numbers: Quirky Stats by Bob Trask
• Habs Send a Six-Pack To World Juniors by JD Lagrange