Paul Byron has yet to announce his intentions for 2023-2024

Of all the players we can talk about, Paul Byron’s name doesn’t come up very often.

Why not? Because even if he were fit enough to play, the Habs wouldn’t necessarily have room for him with all their forwards under contract.

But in reality, the important thing here is “if he was fit enough to play”, because unfortunately, we all know that his body is failing him and a return to action is… unlikely.

So I’m really not saying that I’m waiting after him to announce his new one-year minimum wage contract. After all, we know he’s played his last NHL game.

That’s not what I’m watching for in his case. What I’m watching for is a position on the second floor and his intentions in that regard.

Paul Byron has always been clear: he’d like to work for the Habs. The man who spent many 2022-2023 games chatting with Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton has never made a secret of it: he lives in Montreal and he wants to stay with the Habs.

Even after his contract expired (last July 1, like all other contracts), he was seen in the Canadiens’ entourage (wearing club-issued clothing) talking to the organization’s young players. It was a good clue.

Since then, nothing. The CH hasn’t announced that they’ve hired him, and they haven’t announced that they haven’t. And yet, at the locker emptying in April, he said he wanted to take a month to make up his mind. It’s been several months now.

We suspect he decided not to play much before that, but again: I’m wondering about the second floor, not his ability to return to the game.

We can’t say whether Byron has been seen in the CH entourage since the beginning of July, but for the man, it would be desirable. After all, that’s what he wants, and he could be a great asset to the club’s youngsters.

Let’s see if anything is announced. After all, there’s a world out there where Byron takes time out for himself and his family before jumping into the deep end of his second career.

There’s also a world in which he’s already working for the CH without it having been announced.

In gusto

– Logical.

– Sean Monahan is in fine form.

– What will he do?

– Battles: the rest of Canada doesn’t see things the way Quebec does. [BPM Sports]

– He has no choice but to say that.