The Montreal Canadiens made the playoffs last season and are looking to go on a deeper run this season.
The Canadiens have been active this offseason, adding more talent to their roster, but Montreal could look to trade away some players from its roster. Ahead of the season, NHL analyst Rob Couch of NHLTradeRumors named Josh Anderson the Canadiens’ top trade candidate.
“It is no secret that the Montreal Canadiens desperately need a second-line center and even though they have some cap space to add once Carey Price’s contract goes to LTIR, Josh Anderson’s name is on some trade boards as a potential player to ship out to get it done,” Couch wrote.
“He scored 15 goals last season and is overpaid for his role as a third liner. But he kills penalties and plays physically. He has a cap hit of $5.5 million AAV for two more years and a five-team no-trade clause, so it’s doable,” Couch added.
Anderson is under contract for two more years on his seven-year, $38.5 million deal, so moving him could be tough. But Anderson is still a good third-line player in the NHL who could add some secondary scoring, but the Canadiens could look to shed salary and trade him.
Anderson recorded 15 goals and 12 assists for 27 points in 81 games.
Anderson Confident in Canadiens’ Roster
Although Anderson is named a trade candidate, the Canadiens could opt to keep him.
After the Canadiens were eliminated from the playoffs, Anderson spoke glowingly about the roster and is confident the team will build off last year.
“I think that we’re in good hands right now with everybody here and how things lining up,” Anderson said. “The fanbase has a lot to be excited for in the next couple years and I think we’re just getting started. We’re going to be a team that’s on the map. Then we got to repeat it again next year and go from there.
“I think we’ve shown that we’re kind of a little bit over (rebuilding) right now. We’ve been through some growing pains over the last couple of years. But I think that we’ve built something that we’re ready to win with,” Anderson added.
The Canadiens were the youngest team to make the playoffs last season, which is why Anderson is confident in the roster.
Anderson recorded 1 assist in 5 playoff games for Montreal.
Canadiens Front Office Likes Makeup of Team
Montreal had been going through a rebuild, but that appears to be over.
The Canadiens made the playoffs last season, and Montreal is looking to build off that. Canadiens’ Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton believes the team is ready to be a Cup contender.
“I don’t think it’s fast-forwarding anything. We’ve come in here with a plan of what we want to do to rebuild this team. I think it’s certainly helpful in a lot of ways: the experience of it for our players and maybe showing the rest of the league what it could be like to play here. There’s a lot of benefits from what the players were able to do this season,” Gorton said. “But we’re certainly not done. There’s a lot more to do here. It’s been a real good year. It’s been a fun year for everybody to be part of. We’re going to use it to as a huge stepping stone to where we’re going.”
The Canadiens added Noah Dobson and Zachary Bolduc as their major offseason moves.
Canadiens’ $38.5M Forward Named Top Trade Candidate