The Montreal Canadiens are taking a chance on Riley Barber.
On July 1, the Habs quietly inked the 25-year-old prospect to a one-year, two-way deal and later added more fringe NHL forwards to their offensive arsenal.
While Barber is by no means a big name — yet — and is just on a trial run, he could finally get his chance to make the full-time jump to the next level and make an impact for the Canadiens out of the gate.
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The Washington Capitals selected Barber in the sixth round of the 2012 NHL Draft. After that, he went the college hockey route and suited up with the University of Miami - Ohio, where he had 54 goals and 123 points in 116 NCAA games before foregoing his senior season to go pro.
He had a breakout AHL rookie season to start his professional career in 2015-16, racking up 26 goals and 55 points in 74 games with the Caps' AHL-affiliate Hershey Bears. He'd suffer injury troubles moving forward but still showed top-6 potential. His play made him a first call-up come 2016-17 but got to appear in a total of just three NHL games for Washington.
From there, things didn't bode well for Barber. He failed to impress the Caps, who were already deep up front, in training camp or the preseason, and even though he'd stay through several roster cuts over the next two seasons, he found himself in the minors, still fighting to prove his worth on a nightly basis.
Barber finished out last year with a career-best 31 goals and 60 points in 64 games with Hershey, but the pending UFA all but knew he would likely be moving on from D.C., considering his lack of opportunity, an unsolidified relationship and a cap crunch.
However, this year seems different for the Pittsburgh, Pa. native, who'll get more opportunity with Montreal.
Looking at the depth chart, the Canadiens have a strong selection of right wings, but Barber could emerge as a contender for an extra forward spot on that opening night roster, creating ample competition for players like Nick Cousins, Nick Suzuki and others for that role. Not only does he prove to be a consistent scorer with a lethal shot and great vision at lower levels, but he's also a very coachable forward who is useful at both ends of the rink. Not only that, with a strong work ethic and a little upside, he has the potential to get ice time at higher levels.
Montreal averaged three goals per game last season but didn't get as much production from the fourth line.
While guys like Cousins, Suzuki, Ryan Poehling, Dale Weise and Charles Hudon are mainly expected to be higher on the depth chart than Barber, don't rule out the 6-0, 194-pound winger come September as a dark horse. He still has long ways to go, no doubt, but could turn heads.
"This is a huge turning point in my career as a hockey player. Going into my fifth year pro, I really want to show everyone that I'm an NHL-caliber player and that I can play in that league," Barber told NHL.com of joining Montreal. "Coming into this year, my goal is to show people that I can play in that league on all four lines."
At the very least, he'll be a huge asset for the Laval Rocket, a much-stronger AHL team heading into this season.