Late-Night Trade Sends Alexandre Carrier To Canadiens

Teams are continuing to scramble to make moves before the Holiday Roster Freeze kicks in at midnight Thursday night. The Montreal Canadiens struck a deal with the Nashville Predators in a late-night deal to nab dependable D-man Alexandre Carrier.

The Canadiens have acquired defenseman Alexandre Carrier from the Nashville Predators in exchange for defenseman Justin Barron.

News release ↓ #GoHabsGo https://t.co/eQ8yMQDwUp
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 19, 2024

In exchange, the Habs send to Nashville a young blueliner in Justin Barron who just wasn't reliable enough to stay in the lineup every night for them.

Carrier, 28, is a right-shot D who can play in different situations and will give Montreal head coach Martin St. Louis quality minutes. He's solid defensively, can kill penalties, block shots (137 last season and 49 in 28 games this year), and can play 20 minutes a night. He's had a plus-rating every season in his five years in the league until this one for a woeful Predators team.

He has two and a half seasons left on his contract with a $3.75 million cap hit. It's hard to argue that price for a top-four defenseman, which should be where he plays for Montreal.

As for Barron, the 23-year-old was a first-rounder in the 2020 NHL Draft (25th overall), and has now been traded twice in his short 2+ years in the league. He has the potential to produce offensively from the backline, and the Predators will try to help him develop defensively to help round out his game. In addition, the team gains some cap space with this deal. Barron has a $1.15M cap hit through next season.