Justin Barron is getting another shot in Nashville, and the Predators are betting that a fresh one-year deal can help the former Avalanche first-rounder take another step.
Nashville re-signed the 24-year-old defenseman to a one-year, $1.575 million contract, keeping him in the mix for a bigger role on the blue line. Barron was a restricted free agent after finishing last season with the Predators, where he played 52 games, put up nine assists and averaged 14:15 of ice time. He also blocked 60 shots after arriving from the Montreal Canadiens in December 2024 in the trade that sent defenseman Alexandre Carrier the other way.
"Justin Barron is a 24-year-old, right-handed defenseman who we feel still has growth in his game," Predators President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Chris MacFarland said in a team release. "He can skate and has a lot of physical tools. We're looking forward to seeing him at our training camp in September."
Barron’s path has been tied to Colorado from the start. The Avalanche took him 25th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, then let him develop mostly with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles over the next two seasons. In 50 games there, he posted six goals and 18 assists, and he also got into two NHL games before becoming part of one of the biggest trades in franchise history.
In March 2022, Colorado sent Barron and a 2024 second-round pick to Montreal in the deal that brought Artturi Lehkonen to Denver. That move ended up shaping the Avalanche’s Stanley Cup run, with Lehkonen scoring the overtime winner to finish off the sweep of the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final and later burying the Cup-clinching goal in Game 6 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Barron’s time in Montreal showed flashes of real offense. He posted back-to-back double-digit point seasons in 2022-23 and 2023-24 even though he played fewer than 50 games in each year.
But his start to 2024-25 was quiet, with one point in 17 games, before the move to Nashville. Once he got there, his production picked back up with 12 points in 45 games.
The bigger issue has been consistency on the defensive side. In 208 career regular-season games with the Avalanche, Canadiens and Predators, Barron has 18 goals and 34 assists for 52 points, but he has never finished a season with a positive plus-minus. His career mark sits at minus-27.
The numbers in Nashville show both sides of his game. Barron ranked third among Predators defensemen with 60 blocked shots last season and led the group in blocked shots per 60 minutes at 4.86.
He also finished third on the team’s blue line in hits. But his four takeaways were the fewest on the roster.
For Barron, the new contract offers another chance to carve out a larger role in Nashville. For MacFarland, it adds another right-shot option heading toward the 2026-27 season.
Barron has played 208 regular-season NHL games and still hasn’t made his Stanley Cup Playoff debut. He is also the younger brother of Winnipeg Jets forward Morgan Barron.
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