Justin Barron

March 2022 – Barron has been traded, along with a 2nd round pick, to the Montreal Canadiens for Artturi Lehkonen. Barron has a much better chance to make the Habs defense than he would in Colorado. Pat Quinn

November 2021 – Barron has picked up right where he left off in the AHL. His five points in ten games is respectable for a rookie defender, and he has spent the majority of his time in the top-four for the Eagles. He averages over a shot per game and has seen time on the powerplay, and he has yet to take a penalty (not necessarily good for fantasy, but good in real life). Barron is among the top prospects in the Avs system right now, despite the team already being stacked on the back end. Hayden Soboleski

April 2021 – The Avs have signed Barron to his 3-year ELC. The Mooseheads captain put up 31 points in 33 games, the best pace of his QMJHL career, but he is only signing his contract now because Halifax failed to make the playoffs. Still, the fantasy indicators are strong for Barron who played a top role for the club and took advantage of the opportunity by increasing his shot volume by over 50%, set a career-high in powerplay points with 14, and did so with an even plus-minus rating on a team with several players in heavy negatives. Now we will see what he can do the AHL, where the Eagles all of a sudden have some serious firepower with a number of top prospects entering the pro fold. Hayden Soboleski

January 2021 – Barron has won silver with Team Canada. He had moments of excellent puck movement but also moments of frantic scrambling in his own end. He saw some time on the penalty kill and was a member of a defensive group that didn’t allow an even-strength goals against until the final, but he was overall not a player of note for most of the tournament. Still, this was an excellent opportunity for the young d-man who will now head back to the QMJHL. Hayden Soboleski

December 2020 – Barron has made the Team Canada WJC roster and is entering the tournament on the third defensive pairing. He is more known for the “boring” side of his game, but he has managed to stand out in camp a few times even among his high-talent peers. Hayden Soboleski

October 2020 – The Avalanche have selected Justin Barron with the 25th pick of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. This was a bit of a reach from pre-draft scouting reports and rankings that had him in the second round 20-30 picks later, but Colorado has become accustomed to picking defensemen early and have had success of late. Barron will be less relevant in fantasy compared to real life given his defense-first game and low-danger offensive game. Hayden Soboleski

February 2020 – Barron has had a bit of a tumultuous season to this point but things seem to be pointing in the right direction. Barron started the season of a bit slower than many had expected, struggling at times as he adapted to playing better competition higher in the lineup and doing so without many of the veteran players from last season. His offensive production regressed slightly and he didn’t seem as comfortable with the puck. Things went from bad to worse at the beginning of December when he was diagnosed with blood clots that have kept him out of action to this point. He has said that he wasn’t feeling right at the beginning of the season and the blood clot issue could have been the culprit. Now for the good news, Barron seems close to returning. During his appearance on the Pipeline Show podcast, he said that everything is on track and he should be ready to return shortly but didn’t give an exact timeline. Barron has a real shot at being selected in the first round in June, especially if he can come back and show that his game is closer to what we all saw last year. Tony Ferrari

August 2019 – Justin Barron begins the year as one of the top defensemen available in the 2020 NHL Draft. He plays a strong two-way game. He is a minute-muncher on the backend that can do everything. He is a high-IQ player who always seems to make the right decision with the puck. Defensively strong, Barron rarely allows an attacker to beat him to the net, often times guiding the offensive player into the corner and keeping them outside. Offensively, Barron isn’t a player that is going to “wow” you with stick handling or exceptional offensive creativity but he makes the smart, safe play that leads to dangerous chances for his team. He has a good shot and makes crisp passes in all three zones.  He is a good playmaker with the puck at the point and he can effectively run a power-play unit from the blueline. As one of three players eligible for the 2020 NHL Draft on the Canadian entry in the World Junior Summer Showcase, Barron primarily played with Bowen Byram. The pair was the most consistent for the Canadian squad and Barron established himself as a contender to make the World Junior team in December. – Tony Ferrari