I really don't understand the general contempt towards Justin Barron.
He's a 22 year old 6'2" 200 pds RHD that skates well and have a good shot.
He's had stretches of good games followed by stretches of bad ones, just like a lot of youngsters his age do.
With him it's more a matter of confidence than tools, because he has all the tools to have a long NHL career.
But everybody seems to write him down, even if he already have close to a 100 games at just 22.
At the beginning of last season, he was forming the Habs best defensemen pair with Guhle. Both being under 23 yo.
Then he kind of lost confidence.
He was then sent to Laval, but it was more a case of MTL having tons of young guys at the blue line and them alternating the ones being hot at a given moment.
If MTL didn't have that much alternatives in their system, Barron would've stayed in the NHL. Because he has the tools to be an NHL regular.
Is he perfect?
No, he's not that physical nor has he the sharper defensive awareness.
But at the end of the day, he reminds me of Petry: a tall, athletic and RHS defenseman with a little less than a 1000 games, and a few 40 pts seasons, in the NHL.
So AFAIC, Barron's value is like Drysdale's = he's +/- worth his former draft pick: a late 1st (Gauthier, like Drysdale, was worth an early first at the time of the trade).
Both being 2020 draft, both still unproven but valuable because of their combination of position/shooting side/talent.
So, contrary to a lot of HFboarders, I don't buy the "Barron's worth shit" narrative.
As NHL GMs aren't HFboarders... young Centers/RHD, particularly big ones drafted in the 1st rd, are assets that tend to keep their value in the NHL.
