The Canadian | Paul Byron is looking forward to the new chapter of his life

Posted On: September 22, 2023

It wasn’t a secret to anyone anymore, but Paul Byron took some time Friday in Brossard to say it himself: He won’t be playing hockey anymore.

Posted at 1:14 p.m

General manager Kent Hughes had rumored the matter a few weeks ago, and it was Byron who verbally confirmed it on Friday, when the Canadian was on his second day of training camp.

For Byron, the game jersey will now be put away and replaced with a tracksuit, the official uniform of every NHL coach. On Wednesday, he was named the Canadiens’ player development advisor.

I’m looking forward to this new chapter in my life. I had a lot of time to think about all of this and think about what the next step would be for me. I’m really happy to have this chance to work with the team.

Paul Byron

Byron, who didn’t play last season, was hoping to play this one. “I still want to play but with the injury it’s impossible,” he admitted. I can’t play and train every day. I can’t do that anymore. Going on the ice as a coach is a little less intense… I can do that. »

In this new role as an advisor, Byron will therefore be able to continue to work in the world of the Canadian. A new role he began a bit of last season when he was often seen in the club’s entourage at the Bell Centre.

“Kent [Hughes] and Jeff [Gorton] invited me to watch the games with them…it wasn’t anything formal. But I wanted to see how that aspect of hockey worked. I know I’m done playing, but how can I pass on my experience to others? That’s what I wanted to know. »

At the end of the day, we can probably consider Byron to be one of the Canadian’s best finds on waivers.

Left behind by the Calgary Flames, the fiery forward arrived at the Bell Center at the start of the 2015-2016 season and enjoyed a career in Montreal that undoubtedly exceeded all expectations, including two 20-and-20 seasons. goals or more. In 2016–2017, he had the best season of his career with 22 goals and 21 assists and a total of 43 points in 81 games.

But if he can no longer continue today, it will be mainly for health reasons, since he underwent hip surgery in the summer of 2021 and was only able to play 27 games next season, the 2021-2022 season.

“There are days it still hurts… but day to day life is pretty good. I adapted to that. It’s definitely better if I don’t play… I tried to skate more intensely and every time it hurt really bad the next day. »

What exactly is left for Paul Byron after all this? The many memories, no doubt. Like in May 2021 in Toronto, when he scored a spectacular diving goal during a playoff game against the Maple Leafs in the first round of the playoffs.

“It’s probably the best goal of my life, the goal that everyone still talks to me about,” he concluded. A moment like this is like a dream. It was the end of a good career…”