The Ottawa, Ontario native was drafted in 2007 by the Buffalo Sabres. Byron bounced up and down between the NHL and AHL with Buffalo and Calgary, before being claimed off waivers by the Canadiens ahead of the 2015-16 season.
Montreal's claim of Paul Byron might be one of the best waiver pick-ups in NHL history as he went on to record back-to-back 20+ goal seasons with the team in 2016-17 and 2017-18. During the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Byron scored the game-winning goal in Game 1 in the first round against Toronto to help the Canadiens take a 1-0 series lead.