He was supposed to be forgotten, relegated to the undesirable category. A contract that has become bulky, a salary that has become disturbing. But now Josh Anderson returns to the center of the table.
And this time, it is no longer to balance a possible exchange with Sidney Crosby. It is for something more accessible … but just as explosive: Noah Dobson.
Behind the scenes, everyone knows what is going on. The Canadian wants Dobson. The elite right -of -law of the Icelanders is never so close to Montreal, he who continues to proclaim that his number one choice is CH.
And to obtain it, it will be necessary not only to give up a major hope, David Reinbacher in mind, one or more choices or Logan Mailloux, a drawing established player but also to balance the salary masses.
And this is where Josh Anderson’s name resurfaces.
With his contract of $ 5.5 million per season until 2027, Anderson represents a heavy burden for a player who produced 15 goals and 27 points this season. But as part of a transaction sending Dobson to Montreal. This same contract becomes a tool.
Noah Dobson requests a contract of $ 10 to 11 million per season over eight years. If he arrives in Montreal, he will immediately become the best paid active player of the team, exceeding Patrik Laine, Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.
CH cannot absorb this kind of salary without getting rid of a contract. And Josh Anderson is the logical part to move.
Already, in the scenarios mentioned around Crosby, his name was constantly returning to stabilize the exchange. The same goes here. If Reinbacher, Beck, or even Mailloux take the way to Long Island, Anderson will have to accompany them.
What makes the idea even more sensible is Anderson’s style of play … and the coach who awaits him with open arms.
Patrick Roy loves warriors. He wants robustness, intensity, chaos controlled on the edge of the band. And Josh Anderson ticks all the boxes.
In a system where Roy seeks to surround Matthew Schaefer with physical security, in a cloakroom who will need war leaders to protect the first choice in total, Anderson becomes the dream player.
He strikes. He rushes. He speaks little, but he knocks hard. He is a series player. A right winger typical of the old school.
It is not a natural marker, but it can wake up a team. And in a club like the Icelanders, which wants to restore its identity, it is exactly the kind of profile that you insert in a top-9 without asking questions.
It should not be forgotten that Josh Anderson has already been strongly coveted. Two years ago, Washington’s capital was ready to offer a choice of first round, hope and a veteran, to obtain it on the deadline for transactions.
Hughes said no.
More recently, Frank Seravalli said Washington was still ready to offer a second round choice, provided that CH retains salary.
In series, against the caps precisely, Anderson reminded everyone what he can do: series hockey. He stood up to Tom Wilson, physically dominated, and demonstrated why he still has real value on the market.
And this value, today, could be used to pass a transaction to Dobson from “complicated” to “achievable”.
With a wage bill projected at $ 90.9 million, the tricolor is only $ 4.6 million from the ceiling. And this, without even having signed young people like Heineman, Struble, Dobes, or room for Reinbacher.
Add Dobson to $ 10.5 million, and the cards castle collapses.
Carey Price ($ 10.5 m), Patrik Laine ($ 8.7 m), Suzuki ($ 7.875 m), Caufield ($ 7.85 m), Slafkovsky ($ 7.6 m), Gallagher ($ 6.5 m), Guhle ($ 5.5 m), Anderson (5.5 m $)… Le Haut de la Pyramide Est Consisonne.
And if Reinbacher is exchanged, it releases a position in the organization chart, but no salary.
Josh Anderson solves two problems:
It balances the Dobson contract in a transaction.
He releases space under the ceiling, in the short and medium term.
And it is not only the Icelanders who observe.
With this in mind, Anderson becomes a strategic exchange piece, not just a passive. He has value.
The situation is tense. And everyone knows. Josh Anderson has a partial non-exchange clause with five teams. He refuses a transaction, he could block a major “deal”. But so far, no obstacle has been reported.
He became a father recently. He loves Montreal. But he is also lucid. He feels the wind turn. He sees his name circulating. And he knows that he became “the contract to move” to open the big doors.
Above all, he knows that Patrick Roy would be the perfect coach for him.
Josh Anderson may live his last days with the Canadian. And for once, it is not because he disappoints. It is because it is now or never for Kent Hughes to take action.
If Dobson arrives, Reinbacher part. And Josh Anderson follows. It is the only logical way to bring in a contract of $ 10 million without exploding the mass. It is the only name that gives muscle and intensity to Patrick Roy without costing another piece of the future.
In a league obsessed with advanced statistics, Josh Anderson is still this player who is scary, who strikes, who changes a match by instinct.
And that still has a value. A real one.
As he trains, he lifts his daughter in his arms, he thinks about the next season … He must ask himself: will I still be here?
And during this time, Kent Hughes looks at his watch. Because the Dobson train will not pass twice.
And Josh Anderson? It may well be the entry ticket.
