Breaking: Controversy erupts as Montreal Canadiens’ fans are divided over their defenseman David Savard seeking a $50 million pay rise that would pay him more than…..

It’s fascinating to notice that the Montreal Canadiens engaged in a transaction soon before their season began, even as they enjoy their best run of hockey this year—six victories in seven games. Given present performance, the deal seems to have given some important stability. As some would have anticipated, we are talking about Justin Barron’s exchange for defenseman Alexandre Carrier from the Nashville Predators. Why is the trade looking so good and how has he helped? Let’s talk now.

Carrier Fills a Defence Need for Canadiens
As the old saying goes, perspective is 20/20. The team was floundering in the Atlantic Division in middle December. Regarding the recently traded Barron, the team felt he was not suited for their requirements. There is only so much water in excuses regarding the relative youth and inexperience of the roster. Positive outcomes have to be recorded sooner or later on the board.

Regarding total shots against (1,085), Montreal’s performance is no better than 16th in the NHL even after their run of wins. Their minus-14 goal difference is still the sixth-worst expected goals against (83.97), and their third- worst high-danger shot count is 98. Once more, those figures incorporate the late December gains.

Thus, it seems sense that general manager (GM) Kent Hughes and executive vice president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton would look about for a better fit if it wasn’t working with Barron (not well enough, let’s say). Still, the devil resides in the subtleties. There had been a lot of ink published on the Canadiens’ blue line’s lack of right-handed shots. The squad just consists of two regular players even after obtaining the 28-year-old Carrier: David Savard, who personally comes under trade rumors.

Still, save for injuries, it is better to have a right-handed defense head coach Martin St. Louis knows he can fully rely on a nightly basis. Speaking with the press soon after the team fired, Gorton even said that their minds were focused on another daily right shot on the backdoor.

“With our crew, you may observe it really extensively. We have six left-handed defensemen among us many evenings. Particularly for young men entering the league, it is challenging. Many of them are wanting to be switched over so they may be able to play both.

A Local Creation Realizing a Dream
Building a successful sports franchise has intangibles as well. When considering a trade, one can examine the stats and professional experience of a player. Those undoubtedly come first, but it would be dishonesty to say that exchanges like these had nothing to do with things like “character” or background.

The seven-year veteran is a Quebec native, in addition to the team complimenting Carrier for his personality—most notably Gorton in the above cited interview. More especially, he hails from Quebec City, the province capital. For some who recall the old Quebec Nordiques days, one would laugh at the idea of a Quebec City native appreciating the Canadiens, but Carrier would seem to be the exception. Remember that he was born in 1996, a full year after the franchise relocated to Colorado and changed its name to the Avalanche.

That counts for something. Habs supporters enjoy it when someone from the area sports the team colors even without involving cultural politics. The Bell Centre’s cheer upon Samuel Montembeault’s announcement as the starting goalie is just a little louder. There is someone the local French-language media can contact without transliteration or subtitizing. Stories like Jonathan Drouin’s contentious stay have ended badly, but knowing Carrier wants to be in Montreal is quite wonderful icing on the cake.

Early Payback from Dividends
If Carrier was playing bad hockey, the whole purpose of this piece would be meaningless. The Canadiens unimaginably performed worse after his arrival. Thank goodness, quite the reverse has happened.

Montreal has a macro score of 5-1-0 for the six blueliners she has suited. Though their loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets was a stinker (5-4), they have only given eight goals in the six wins. They have a plus-12 goal difference during that stretch, quite amazing.

Carrier is personally reaching his best; on average, he logs 19:40 of ice time. More importantly, he has a plus-2 rating and already collected four points through assists.

Examining the extremely precise figures Natural Stat Trick generates, his primary partner has been Kaiden Guhle, with whom he has skated for 91:21 during 5-on- 5 hockey. Their expected goals against (xGA) is 2.67. Their Corsi is 52.87%, their Fenwick is 54.55%. Remember that Guhle’s xGA was 3.91 when he played with Barron (for 64:07). Fascinating meal for contemplation.

Carrier has not been much used on the power play thus far. Though the xGA has been shockingly low 0.45, the same combination has also been on the ice for a short-handed goal and have spent 8:34 killing penalties together.

Though those numbers aren’t making anyone second-guess the move, six games is a short sample size. Is the presence of Quebecois truly giving Montreal the necessary impetus to start this beautiful string? Correspondence or causality? You make decisions. Still, it scarcely counts at times like these. “You play to WIN THE GAME!” stated a well-known former NFL head coach once. The key is Carrier is helping the Canadiens succeed by doing his share.