Hockey is, in many ways, a game of numbers. And when it comes to Montreal Canadiens forward Josh Anderson, the math doesn’t look great.
The power forward may have been the subject of trade rumours last season, but that interest seems to be dwindling. No matter whether Canadiens fans want him to stay or go, management may have no choice but to keep the 29-year-old around, barring a miracle deal.
From poor stats to a tough contract, here’s why retaining any sort of real value for Anderson right now would be tough, even for a trade wizard like Kent Hughes.
Slow start
Anderson had a very difficult start to the season, setting one of the longest goalless streaks by a Habs forward in recent history.
While he finally lit the lamp in December, snapping the 27-game drought, he went into the new year with just 11 points.
As a result, head coach Martin St. Louis has experimented with moving the Burlington, Ontario, native up and down the lineup throughout the year. Unfortunately, he has yet to find a spot that works.
Anderson is known as a playoff performer, which could give Montreal some negotiating power, but it doesn’t help that he hasn’t seen the postseason for three years.
Recent struggles
The second half of Anderson’s season has not looked much better, netting just five points since January 1.
The six-foot-three winger has logged zero shots on net over his past three games, along with three penalties over his last four.
Anderson, who netted exactly 32 points over 69 games in his past two campaigns, has also become a defensive liability, at minus-21 this year.
As many have speculated, his decrease in production may be confidence-related.
“I’m trying to find ways to get out of [the slump]. Right now I’m trying to focus on being good in my defensive zone, and just trying to push the pace… go to the net and maybe score a dirty one when I can,” he said to reporters this week. “Obviously, I know the player that I am, being physical at times and trying to create energy for our team. I’m just trying to focus on that point.”
Bad contract
Back in 2020, the Canadiens signed Anderson to a seven-year, $38.5 million contract that sees him carrying a $5.5 million cap hit for the next two seasons.
That’s a hefty chunk of change when you consider that most teams looking to add depth ahead of the playoffs are approaching the NHL’s salary cap limit.
Montreal has the option of retaining salary on a deal, but they already retain a portion of the salaries of defencemen Joel Edmundson and Jeff Petry. And since the league only allows teams to do so on three contracts at a time, keeping some of Anderson’s contract on their books may create an issue in dealing away other assets considered to be overpaid.
A trade involving Anderson is technically possible, but it likely won’t be pretty for the Canadiens.
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