If only Josh Anderson can play like he's able to then we'd be covered! I've never been so frustrated in a player before since Rene Bourque. Anderson has the skill but the effort and drive isn't there.
They need to dump some cap but the Oilers are much better now than when they made it to the finals. Their division also is arguably weaker.
That's the thing. Marchessault, verbatim, said "I would have loved to play for Montreal but Nashville was a better fit." Aka he views them as a better chance to win. Which, yeah, fair.
And yet, that super simple tax structure is exploited every year.
Most likely they will have to make a trade unless Kane's injuries are severe enough where he has to go on LTIR
Arguably a good step forward would be to just miss the playoffs while icing a young promising lineup (making it would be a surprise), get another top 15 pick and now be armed to go into the draft with a lot of draft capital and into free agency with cap space (Dvorak, Armia and Savard gone). Habs would be a much more appealing option. Sort of like the Leafs were in 2017.
Fun fact about Sprong: his father was a pain in the ass in minor hockey, while his young son was playing, yelling at refs, opponents, everybody essentially from the stands. His rep was known across the Ligue Métro.
Here is the draft pick compensation for the salary offers
I don’t think that the effort isn’t there personally. Some nights yes, absolutely, he was dogshit and lazy, and drove me nuts. But have you ever seen a guy with worse puck luck than Anderson this year? The only one I can think of that comes close would be Chris Higgins, and his 2 breakaways a game when he only scored 23 goals…. He could have had 50! Anderson hit more posts, had more pucks deflect off sticks, and was robbed more than other Hab I’ve seen over the last 40 years. I think it broke him mentally, and I’m not joking. He looked lost and a shell of himself. If he had converted on half the chances he blew last year, he’d have put up his usual 20 goals. I hope he bounces back because he can be a major asset to this team when he’s on his game.
Great post.
There is a chance. Afterall, there is no reason for him to struggle so bad. I don't think he is a good fit for Marty's system which relies heavily on hockey IQ. Anderson has been productive when he could go down the wing with speed and just rush in and take a shot. I think he is a little lost in this system and it is partially why he overthinks and his timing isn't quite right.
Too bad Cliff Fletcher isn't around. Remember when he signed Jeff Finger (he got him confused with another player).
If the Habs wanted Robertson, they probably only need to offer sheet him to a 1/2.29M deal. I can’t see Robertson getting a better deal than that, would only cost the Habs a 3rd, and Toronto probably can’t afford to pay him that much for a whole year, especially cause they wouldn’t be able to trade him.
I think they will do something like
