The Montreal Canadiens certainly aren’t messing around when it comes to committing to recently acquired forward Josh Anderson. The gritty and skilled power forward just signed a seven-year extension worth $5.5 million per season with the team.
The deal includes a no-trade clause. More specifically, in years 2-4: 8 team No Trade List. In years 5-7: 5 Team No Trade List.
The contract breaks down as follows:
- Year 1: $4M
- Year 2: $4M
- Year 3: $7M
- Year 4: $8M
- Year 5: $7M
- Year 6: $5M
- Year 7: $3.5M
Anderson, 26, missed much of last season due to injuries and the Columbus Blue Jackets decided to move him to better their center depth with the addition of Max Domi. Anderson’s four points (1 goal, 3 assists) in 26 games with the Blue Jackets in 2019-20 was an anomaly — or at least the Canadiens certainly hope so. The right-handed forward is back and ready to play from a sustained a shoulder injury and get back to his goal-scoring ways and physical play.
In 267 games with Columbus, the 6’3” and 222 lbs right-winger scored 65 goals and 50 assists.
Clearly, 2017-18 was his best season as a pro. He notched 27 goals and 47 points in 82 games. The Canadiens are expecting he’ll be able to reach that kind of production again for the money they’re investing.
Canadiens Skip Right Over Prove It Season
There was some speculation that the Canadiens might want to sign Anderson to a shorter-term deal first in what would have been considerd “prove it” season. In other words, before committing huge money to Anderson, they wanted to make sure he was fully healed and the same player he was before injury. Obviously, GM Marc Bergevin isn’t worried about that.
Time will tell if it this was the right decision and Anderson outplays his annual average or if the Canadiens just jumped the gun in a major way.
Next: Everything You Really Need to Know Heading Into Start of NHL Free Agency 2020
