The Montreal Canadiens made their first big move of the offseason already. They traded Shea Weber to the Vegas Golden Knights for Evgeni Dadonov.
That was the first of possibly many dominos to fall. It has already been heavily rumoured that Jeff Petry could be the next Canadiens player to find a new team. There could be a handful of veteran players packing their bags before next season begins.
One player who is apparently getting a lot of attention from others teams is Josh Anderson. General Manager Kent Hughes admitted as much when he spoke to the media following the announcement of the Weber trade.
Hughes essentially said that he was not shopping Anderson or reaching out to anyone to offer Anderson. However, he is getting a lot of calls about the right winger and he will of course listen to all offers and will make his team better if the opportunity arises.
Regarding speculation Josh Anderson might be traded, Kent Hughes said it's not his intention to trade him. But he also said he won't turn away from any opportunity to make his team better.
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) June 16, 2022
This is exactly what he said leading up to the trade deadline about Artturi Lehkonen and Brett Kulak. Both were traded when the correct offer was made for the player. Hughes waited out the market and finally got a great prospect and a second round pick for Lehkonen and a second round pick with a fringe NHL piece for Kulak.
Both offers were terrific for the Canadiens, and the two players faced off in the western conference final so their new teams were not complaining either.
Can Hughes find a similar offer for Anderson? An offer that he can not refuse? Maybe, it would just take the right team that is knocking on the door for Stanley Cup contention but maybe needs a bit more scoring, or a bit more snarl on the wing.
Anderson’s combination of size, speed, shot, physicality, skill and work ethic is hard to find. It’s why he won’t be traded unless a huge offer comes along. What would that take? And which teams are most likely to be desperate enough to offer the overpayment?