Justin Barron refused to come to Montreal on Sunday to receive his Team Canada ring

On Sunday, the Canadiens were washed out by the St. Louis Blues. That’s what we’ll remember most about that day… in hockey terms, of course.

Samuel Montembeault wasn’t in net for his team, but he still had an important day. But why? Because the goalie received his Team Canada championship ring.

He won the most recent World Championships with Canada, and the club’s GM was Doug Armstrong. The Blues’ GM showed up at the Bell Centre with Montembeault’s ring to give it to him.

But Montembeault (who is tipped to be a contender for the next Olympics) wasn’t the only Canadiens player to play for the Canadiens in the spring of 2023. There was also Justin Barron.

However, Barron is not currently in the NHL: he’s down under. And at the time of the Blues’ visit, Barron was in Toronto with the Rocket.

That being said, it’s important to mention that the Canadiens gave Barron the chance to return to Montreal for Sunday’s game, so that he too could be in person to receive his championship ring.

And as Arpon Basu (The Athletic) tells us, Barron said no.

In fact, the Rocket played in Toronto on Saturday and were due to return home the following day. The club is now, on this fine Tuesday morning, in Quebec awaiting its next road trip.

Usually, the players return immediately after the game to save a day at the hotel. Had this happened, Barron could have been at the Bell Centre on the sidelines of the Habs game to receive his ring.

But Saturday night was a rookie dinner for the Rocket. The club stayed an extra night in the Queen City.

Barron was faced with a decision: return to Montreal to receive his ring from Doug Armstrong, or stay in Toronto with his teammates for the rookie dinner.

He chose to stay with the Rocket.

Bringing Barron back to Montreal wouldn’t have been difficult. He could simply have done what Joshua Roy did and come back to Montreal on Saturday night. But he did so because he was recalled.

Obviously, there are two ways of looking at this. You could say that Barron was a good teammate who didn’t put his ego ahead of him and chose to stay with the Rocket to be with his club.

Does this demonstrate a commitment to the Habs’ club-school? It certainly does.

That said, you could also say that we’re talking about a youngster who had a choice between partying on a Saturday night at a rookie dinner… or accepting a ring in person from Doug Armstrong.

And you know, even if the GM of Team Canada didn’t give it to him in person, Barron will still get his ring in the end.

I’m not saying this to take any credit away from Justin Barron. I’m just saying that, in the eyes of a young player like him, the decision couldn’t have been that difficult.

In fact, one might even wonder if it wasn’t a lack of respect to refuse to report to the Team Canada GM when he could have done so. That’s not my opinion, but I’m sure many people feel the same way.

In a gaggle

– Really?

– With good reason.

– Tough break.

– He has to get up.

– To be continued.