The Canadian | Paul Byron’s long ordeal

Some nights, at the worst times, Paul Byron had trouble sleeping. Often, when he finally fell asleep, the pain ended up waking him up.

Richard Labbe
The Press

It had almost become his daily lot. He struggled to take off his gear, “and it became painful just trying to walk to my locker,” he added.

Paul Byron will be back in action on Sunday night, and we can say that he has come a long way.

Interviews on Zoom are certainly not a vector of emotions, but Saturday morning, at the end of the camera, it is a clearly relieved Paul Byron that we could see. Relieved to be able to be back, relieved to be able to be there, relieved at all.

The last time we saw him was in the last game of the Stanley Cup Finals on July 7. Shortly before that, before Game 5 of the series against Toronto, he had to receive an injection to mask the pain. “That’s when it clicked in my head,” he explained. I had been trying to delay this surgery for a few years, but it was getting worse…”

He therefore had hip surgery in July. A long period of fitness followed. Saturday night at the Bell Center, when the Edmonton Oilers visit, he will be an attentive spectator. Sunday night, when the Columbus Blue Jackets visit, it will be even better: he will be on the ice.

“I’ve had this pain in my legs for a long time… it’s been a few years and some nights I was not at my best at all.

“This game against Toronto in the playoffs, it had to be won, it was a game without a future, and I started to approach each game as my last. And every game we won, it made me forget the pain. When you’re in the moment, you don’t feel the pain anymore, it’s the same goal for everyone. During the playoffs, everyone does that…”

Gallagher also back

Just like Byron, Brendan Gallagher is also preparing his return. It won’t be Saturday night, but most likely Sunday night for him as well.

He hasn’t had to be absent for this long – his last game dates back to December 30 – but Gallagher also hated the role of spectator. Now, with a club whose season is ruined, he will be one of those veterans who will have to deal with trade rumors in the coming weeks.

“I don’t know because I haven’t spoken to Jeff (Gorton) or Kent (Hughes) yet,” he replied. Everyone wants to win in this locker room, but there were times this year when it was more difficult. We are capable of better, everyone knows that. »

And his future with the Canadian?

“For me, as a player, winning will always be the most important thing… But the Montreal Canadiens are also very important to me. We’ll see. There is a difference between a rebuild and a reset…”

Another big absentee, Carey Price, briefly skated alone Saturday morning in Brossard. His return to the game is not for tomorrow, but Dominique Ducharme said he was encouraged by this small step forward.

It falls a little badly, however, because the Canadian will have a week off from Monday, no training will be scheduled. “But if Carey wants to come here to skate on his own, he can do that,” Ducharme added.

Note also that the Canadian could choose to face the Oilers on Saturday night with a formation of 7 defenders and 11 attackers; a decision to this effect will be made at the end of the warm-up period.

Finally, in a combination of circumstances that perfectly sums up the Canadian’s 2021-22 season, Cole Caufield and Joel Armia missed their flight back to Montreal. They will enter the city only during the afternoon of Saturday… if their plane finally takes off.