Player Discussion Justin Barron

[kyne]

He should be the one getting a second look tonight, not Logan Mailloux.

It's what I was thinking. I think Mailloux is better known quantity at this point.

 

[Tyson]

It's what I was thinking. I think Mailloux is better known quantity at this point.

 

[Adriatic]

I really wish this is the year he figures it out. He's got so many good tools and I love his skating. If he could just eliminate the brain farts he's be incredible.

 

[Vachon23]

He should be the one getting a second look tonight, not Logan Mailloux.

Mailloux need to be better then Barron to win a spot what he wasn’t yesterday

 

[calder candidate]

He was fairly good yesterday, no one else beside Hutson really had a better showing.
he had 2-3 good event joining the rush, may of had 2 or 3 event where he didn’t look as good, decision, hesitant but everyone had similar issue. We know his qualities we need to know he is able to take care of is own zone the fact that he wasn’t too noticeable is a good thing for him.

 

[HuGort]

He did , the kid was solid and looked very confident on the defensive side of the puck . Early days I know but I saw encouraging signs in his game last night .

Probably better Reinbacher and Mailloux getting ice time in Laval then. Barron, Guhle, Savard on right D. At least until a injury.

Matheson, Hutson, Wifi on left D. Struble the 7th guy.

 

[Mayday1980]

Watching him in the dzone there's definitely hesitation in his decision making but I'm not sure if it's a "confidence" thing, a "decision making under pressure" thing, a "hockey sense scanning options quickly and making the most efficient play" or a combination of all 3. He has a tendency to soft lob passes to the opposite open corner without looking to see where his d partner is.

Dmen do tend to take longer to put it all together and his offensive instincts/tool set is strong but he's still looking like too much of a defensive liability to make the NHL roster permanently. I hope he takes a step this year because his runway with the team is closing due to competition. I'm getting the feeling that our system (or lack of) might not be structured enough defensively for him to progress.....

 

[26Mats]

Mailloux need to be better then Barron to win a spot what he wasn’t yesterday

How much does playing on a back to back effect dmen?

Not that I'm going to make any kind of judgement based on the first two preseason games. I'll be more interested to see how they look in the last few preseason games and when there are less AHL players in the lineups.

 

[BLONG7]

How much does playing on a back to back effect dmen?

Not that I'm going to make any kind of judgement based on the first two preseason games. I'll be more interested to see how they look in the last few preseason games and when there are less AHL players in the lineups.

I think Barron is, already what we hope to get from DR and LM.
48 games last year, and he produced some decent numbers for a Dman, and helps jumping in with the offense. His D is where he needs to focus, and so do the other 4 guys on the ice at that time.....

I think our future in DR and LM need a little more AHL time yet. Barron should stay at this point, and then as the year progresses, we have to figure out is is Savard going? Barron going??

 

[MasterD]

I think Barron is, already what we hope to get from DR and LM.
48 games last year, and he produced some decent numbers for a Dman, and helps jumping in with the offense. His D is where he needs to focus, and so do the other 4 guys on the ice at that time.....

I think our future in DR and LM need a little more AHL time yet. Barron should stay at this point, and then as the year progresses, we have to figure out is is Savard going? Barron going??

I disagree. For age and contract reasons, Barron will stay, but DR is already as good as Barron is defensively and has barely played in NA at this point. We can hope for DR to become a lot more than what Barron is.

Same for Mailloux. Him and Barron have very similar tools, and both have questionable toolboxes at this point, but he LM's potential is definitely a lot higher than what JB is today. No question. Just like JB's potential is much higher than what he is today. (Not that I'm confident he'll reach it).

 

[LePenseur]

None of Mailloux, Reinbacher or Struble delivered well enough to steal his spot in the camp up to now. All played somehow well, in that case the least painful option is to keep him and decide if he is #7 (Struble 3rd pair RD) or #6.

The preseason is still young, nothing is forcing HuGo hand and no obvious hole in other position requires to trade him out.

All going back to " you need to force management to take difficult decision".

 

[Captain Mountain]

How much does playing on a back to back effect dmen?

Not that I'm going to make any kind of judgement based on the first two preseason games. I'll be more interested to see how they look in the last few preseason games and when there are less AHL players in the lineups.

I think its more that Barron looked better than Mailloux in the Flyers game.

Pre-season largely doesn't matter even after cuts. But guys who haven't been in the NHL need to force the issue with their performance. The only D that's done so thus far is Hutson, which is why he's skating with Savard and looks like a lock on the opening roster barring injury.

At the end of the day, its not hard to call guys up from Laval, so the only really impactful decision roster-wise is if Kapanen makes the team or goes back to the SHL. Because if he's going to the SHL then they're not going to add him to the roster in two weeks.

 

[BLONG7]

I disagree. For age and contract reasons, Barron will stay, but DR is already as good as Barron is defensively and has barely played in NA at this point. We can hope for DR to become a lot more than what Barron is.

Same for Mailloux. Him and Barron have very similar tools, and both have questionable toolboxes at this point, but he LM's potential is definitely a lot higher than what JB is today. No question. Just like JB's potential is much higher than what he is today. (Not that I'm confident he'll reach it).

Both of those kids have more upside yes absolutely but neither are where Barron already is
Agree to disagree

 

[BaseballCoach]

Both of those kids have more upside yes absolutely but neither are where Barron already is
Agree to disagree

Based on the very limited sample size, I believe Reinbacher was more solid than Barron, and Barron better than Mailloux, who was even with Engstrom. Oeville has been the best at breaking up plays and sending the team back up ice with possession.

Hutson has more peaks and more valleys than the other four.

Struble is ahead of all the rookies and ahead of Barron too, but behind Xhekaj.

I don't think a rookie should be the consistent 7th D. Personally, I would have Reinbacher in the top 6 and Barron 7th, with Hutson going to Laval to improve his defence, along with Mailloux and Engstrom.

Most fans might flip Reinbacher and Hutson, and I would keep my mind open for that over the next four games and balance of training camp.

 

[habsfan44]

Probably better Reinbacher and Mailloux getting ice time in Laval then. Barron, Guhle, Savard on right D. At least until a injury.

Matheson, Hutson, Wifi on left D. Struble the 7th guy.

Like I said it's early days , I don't want to draw conclusions based upon one pre season game .

 

[HuGort]

I'd give Barron plenty ice time this season. There's signs there. We paid high price for him. I want to give him every opportunity

 

[26Mats]

I'd give Barron plenty ice time this season. There's signs there. We paid high price for him. I want to give him every opportunity

If Struble is outplaying him, hard for me to see MSL going with Barron.

But, if management see a certain potential in Barron, and not Struble, maybe they share that with MSL, or they trade Struble.

But there will probably be injuries. And that will be a window for players to make their cases.

 

[SOLR]

I think Barron is, already what we hope to get from DR and LM.
48 games last year, and he produced some decent numbers for a Dman, and helps jumping in with the offense. His D is where he needs to focus, and so do the other 4 guys on the ice at that time.....

I think our future in DR and LM need a little more AHL time yet. Barron should stay at this point, and then as the year progresses, we have to figure out is is Savard going? Barron going??

I sure as hell don't think he is defensively what we hope to get from DR and LM.

DR is already ahead of all of them defensively by a mile. They are just slow-cooking him in the levels in the hope he develops his 2-way game more.

 

[Rapala]

Barron just has to continue what he's been doing moving the puck quickly using his frame to snuff out plays.
I like when he controls his space like the hit he used on the PK to deny zone entry a solid crunching in control hit.
With his mobility and size he needs to do more of that.
He's boxed out well he's engaged well and he joins the rush very well.
He needs to work on his one timer.
Whiffs like we saw will automatically lead to "Barron's terrible" comments despite playing a decent game up to that point.

Still needs to work on his pinch he thinks he can win everything with his size and mobility but this isn't junior hockey.
The one chance his pairing gave up when we pulled the goaltender was actually Hutson's mistake.
Lane can't give him that puck when he has two players on him and no room to maneuver.
I like what I'm seeing so far in camp.

 

[26Mats]

Barron just has to continue what he's been doing moving the puck quickly using his frame to snuff out plays.
I like when he controls his space like the hit he used on the PK to deny zone entry a solid crunching in control hit.
With his mobility and size he needs to do more of that.
He's boxed out well he's engaged well and he joins the rush very well.
He needs to work on his one timer.
Whiffs like we saw will automatically lead to "Barron's terrible" comments despite playing a decent game up to that point.

Still needs to work on his pinch he thinks he can win everything with his size and mobility but this isn't junior hockey.
The one chance his pairing gave up when we pulled the goaltender was actually Hutson's mistake.
Lane can't give him that puck when he has two players on him and no room to maneuver.
I like what I'm seeing so far in camp.

In the past the problems I've had with him are exclusively in the defensive end: missed coverage, coughing the puck up, etc... if he can somehow fix those, he'll be a quality NHL dman.

 

[Rapala]

In the past the problems I've had with him are exclusively in the defensive end: missed coverage, coughing the puck up, etc... if he can somehow fix those, he'll be a quality NHL dman.

His errors in Camp haven't been missed assignments and ever since he started moving the puck quicker in Laval he isn't turning it over nearly as often.
When he does turn it over oftentimes it's out of our zone which is 100 times better than getting hemmed.
Barron is no longer falling all over himself which was an obvious sign of nerves going back a couple of seasons now.
He's definitely becoming more physical and getting credit for it from our staff.

Barron's dilemma with this fan base is simply that many have already made up their minds and will never bring up things he's doing well.
There is much more to like about his game than he'll ever get credit for here.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Give him the spot , everybody else can be developed in Laval , its a non issue. Everybody is so young its crazy to anoint them as whatever they will be or wont be already

 

[Whalers Fan]

I'd give Barron plenty ice time this season. There's signs there. We paid high price for him. I want to give him every opportunity

The Habs didn't really pay a high price for Barron, IMO. They had to get rid of Lehkonen for salary cap reasons, as he was one of the few forwards who was worth something and didn't fit into the long range rebuild. They got Barron and a 2nd round pick in the trade. That's pretty good value, considering Barron was a young, former late 1st round pick.

 

[morhilane]

I'm quite happy with what Barron is showing at camp so far. Struble-Barron would make a fine 3rd pair I think.

 

[Rapala]

The Habs didn't really pay a high price for Barron, IMO. They had to get rid of Lehkonen for salary cap reasons, as he was one of the few forwards who was worth something and didn't fit into the long range rebuild. They got Barron and a 2nd round pick in the trade. That's pretty good value, considering Barron was a young, former late 1st round pick.

That Hage doesn't happen without that second has been pointed out and It's not like Barron wasn't a touted player with his natural attributes.
I don't think Justin Barron is on a losing value trajectory so we've come out in good shape over all.
As much as I Love Lehk I'm happy he was able to stick it to the dissenters on this forum as did Eller with his role in Washington's Cup win.
It goes to show just how unappreciative our fan base can be when they choose to ignore the things players do really well to justify their own positions.