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Paul Byron Has Shoulder Surgery, Out 6 Months |
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Paul Byron Has Shoulder Surgery, Out 6 Months
The season from hell had itself a little OT session of its own as its been revealed that Montreal’s 20 goal, waiver wire lotto hit Paul Byron’s shoulder was so injured he required major surgery to repair it.
The timeline for Byron’s recovery is slated for 6 months which would peg his return timetable at mid to late October 2018. Clearly, that would mean Byron will miss training camp and around 10 games to start next season.
The surgery couldn’t come at a worse time for the soon to be 29 year old who is entering the final year of a 3 year pact he signed with the Canadiens that began in the 2016-17 season. Byron will make only $1 million next season and his negotiating power just took a major hit with this injury.
Byron does have something that Bergevin covets though, character. Byron is a player that makes almost minimum NHL wage, pots 20 goals, and never quits. He earned a raise for sure, but this is a business and losing that bargaining power must hurt as much as this surgery will for Byron.
I’m sure the Canadiens will monitor his progress and recovery very carefully next season before they tender him another NHL contract offer. The good thing is Byron is a proud Montreal Canadiens player, he takes great pride in his game and the position he is in with Montreal. He accepts any role the coaches have put him in and gives his all.
Should Byron recover well and resume the level of play he has given that last two seasons I could definitely see him land a 3-4 year deal around $2.5-3 million per year and that should be fair for the speedy 20 goal man. But before I get ahead of myself, let’s just hope for a problem free recovery for one of my favorite Habs.
Byron also made headlines after the season for the same reason Bergevin did when he alluded to players on the Canadiens not willing to give 100% every game and being unprepared. Now that we know he scored 20 goals with a shoulder that requires half a years worth of recovery I hope people stop mocking the message sent out by GM M Bergevin, B Gallagher, and Byron. If Gallagher, Byron, and Weber can play their best at way less than 100% while others coasted and gave up then there is a serious issue between the ears for whoever these players and GM were basing that opinion on.
While we may never find out who these messages were for, I truly hope they received it in time for next year…
My cross country move is days away and I’m working hard with my wife to make sure we are ready for the big day with our two sons and dog. Bear with me during this time as my writings will be infrequent. That said, Go Habs Go and Go Jets Go…
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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