Article content

Paul Byron knew it wasn’t going to be good news when he was called into the office of Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving following a practice on Oct. 5, 2015.

“That’s never a good thing when that happens,” Byron recalled after the Canadiens practised Monday morning in Brossard. “He told me the news.”

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Stu Cowan: Canadiens' Paul Byron still has fond memories of Calgary Back to video

The news was that the Flames were placing Byron on waivers after he had posted 6-13-19 totals in 57 games the previous season.

“I went home and I was pretty devastated, to be honest with you,” Byron said. “I didn’t really know what to do. I had no idea if another team was going to pick me up or not. It was a nervous 24 hours because we just finally got settled in Calgary and then I didn’t know if I was going to Stockton (Calgary’s California farm team in the AHL) or somewhere else. I got the news the next day and I was pretty happy about it.”

The news this time was that Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin had claimed Byron on waivers. It has turned out to be a fantastic move for the Canadiens and for Byron, who will face his former Calgary teammates Tuesday night at the Bell Centre (7:30 p.m., Sportsnet East, TSN Radio 690).