BREAKING NEWS: The Montreal Canadiens have traded forward Max Domi and a third-round pick in 2020 to Columbus for Josh Anderson. It’s the NHL’s first big move on NHL Draft Day.
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Back in June, we wrote the following about the possibility of an Anderson for Domi deal. We cited Eric Engels of Sportsnet who said in a mailbag segment:
While he didn’t think the Canadiens would actively try to pry Anderson out of the Blue Jackets organization, if Anderson was offered up in trade — there is some speculation he could be on the move — Engels believes the Canadiens should be compelled to take a look.
There was a ton of talk that Domi might be on the move considering his pending salary arbitration case and status as an RFA this offseason. The Canadiens weren’t likely prepared to offer the raise Domi was going to be seeking, especially considering he’d moved down the depth chart as a center on the Canadiens roster.
The Blue Jackets weren’t among the teams necessarily rumored to be in on the deal but it makes sense considering the team is looking for offense and will certainly need more scoring.
The Canadiens might be questioned on the return sent to the Blue Jackets as a Domi trade straight across might be a gamble. That they’ve thrown in a third round pick as well means they must feel confident.
Anderson Should Fit Well In Montreal
Going the other way is forward Josh Anderson who has had some injury issues as of late but when healthy is one of the NHL’s top power forwards in the game. Because the Canadiens have a surplus of centers, the move makes sense if they believe Anderson to be healthy and ready to roll for the 2020-21 season. Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen told The Athletic last month that Anderson would have played in the second round of the playoffs had the Blue Jackets gotten past the Tampa Bay Lightning. That’s a good sign.
TSN’s Darren Dreger writes: “Montreal lands a coveted player in Josh Anderson and will no doubt get to work immediately on framework of a contract extension.” He adds that Anderson was looking for a long-term deal in Columbus and that could be part of the reason he was moved.
The Canadiens will likely sign Anderson to an extension fairly quickly although it will be interesting to see what kind of money he gets after the season he had in 2019-20.
What interesting is that Anderson is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights as is Domi. Both players are repped by agent Darren Ferris. Kekalainen will be dealing with the same agent, just about a different player.
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