Already a trade involving Justin Barron announced by Kent Hughes?

Whether it's David Reinbacher or Logan Mailloux trying to impress at their first camp, or already established young players like Kaiden Guhle, Jordan Harris, and Arber Xhekaj starting their second season in Montreal, there could be a surplus of quality young defenders.

However, I did not mention the name of Justin Barron, as some experts are wondering if the young defender will be part of the Canadiens' long-term plans and, according to one journalist, it's possible that Barron may not start the season in Montreal.

As reported by the site Rumeursdetransaction.com, Rob Couch of NHL Trade Rumors wrote an article recently suggesting that if Barron does not impress the Canadiens' management during training camp, he might start the season with the Laval Rocket.

He still had respectable numbers in 2022-2023 with a haul of 15 points in 39 meetings with the Canadiens, but at last year's training camp, he had been assigned to the American League.

His defensive play wasn't up to par, but he had still advanced with the Rocket before finishing the season with the big club.

However, it is also observed that he is no longer among the most popular names when discussing the Canadiens' best young defenders, and Couch even mentioned in his article that he could be interesting trade bait in the near future.

Recall that he was acquired by Kent Hughes at the 2022 trade deadline from the Colorado Avalanche with a second-round pick for Artturi Lehkonen. If this transaction initially made Hughes look like a genius, let's just say it doesn't look as good now, as the Finnish forward has become one of the pillars of the attack in Colorado.

Despite everything, Justin Barron is only 21 years old and has a bright future ahead of him. But he will need to find a way to raise his game a notch, as he might get a ticket to Laval before the season starts.