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Canadiens and Predators Swap Defensemen

The Montreal Canadiens swapped defensemen with the Nashville Predators.

Jacob Punturi

Dec 5, 2024; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Nashville Predators defenseman Alexandre Carrier (45) plays the puck against the Montreal Canadiens during the third period at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
Dec 5, 2024; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Nashville Predators defenseman Alexandre Carrier (45) plays the puck against the Montreal Canadiens during the third period at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images / David Kirouac-Imagn Images
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Trades are everywhere in the NHL recently, and the Nashville Predators and Montreal Canadiens are the latest to get in on the trend. In a one-for-one deal, the Predators sent defenseman Alexandre Carrier to Montreal for defenseman Justin Barron.

The trade seems to be a simple swap for both the Canadiens and Predators. Carrier is a more experienced defenseman, but both are right-handed blue liners who are best suited for the second or third pairing in the right situation.

Carrier had played his entire career with the Predators prior to this trade. The team selected him in the fourth round of the 2015 draft and it took him a few years of developing before earning a full-time role with the NHL squad. In 245 games, he has 11 goals, 58 assists, and 69 career points.

Joining Montreal, Carrier is another veteran brought in to teach the young core. The blue line has players like Lane Hutson, Jayden Struble, and Kaiden Guhle that are all 23 years old or younger and having another steady presence like Carrier should aid their development.

Barron is a former first round pick of the Colorado Avalanche, going 25th overall at the 2020 NHL Draft. He didn't stick around long in the Avalanche organization, as the team packaged him and a draft pick to Montreal in return for two-way winger Artturi Lekhonen. The Avs won a Stanley Cup with Lekhonen playing a pivotal role. The Habs have been trying to figure out where he best fits on their blue line, but he never seemed to find his footing with the team.

But now with the Predators, Barron has a chance to finally blossom into the defenseman his first round pedigree projected. He should receive consistent ice-time and a larger role in Nashville, and the team is eager to see what they have in the young defender. Just 23 years old, he already has 111 career NHL games. In those appearances, he has 13 goals, 18 assists, and 31 points with an average of 17 minutes of ice-time over the course of his career.

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Jacob Punturi
JACOB PUNTURI

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