Montreal Canadiens: Making A Case For Lias Andersson Call Up

The Montreal Canadiens took out a flier on Lias Andersson during the offseason, in a low-risk move to add depth for the Laval Rocket.

Andersson, a former 2017 seventh overall draft selection by the New York Rangers has failed to live up to his draft day expectations. To put things into context, Nick Suzuki was also selected in the first round of this draft, at 13th overall. So Andersson is still young and presents another player in the fold who is being given the time he needs to just play hockey.

In 2022-23, Andersson had a strong season with the Ontario Reign, which makes it puzzling that now, of all times the Los Angeles Kings would just give up on the player. Anyhow, he managed to score 59 points through 67 games with the Reign, which was his first healthy season with the club. Giving up on a player who continues to push for his dreams seems foolish, so hopefully Hughes’s kind gesture will be a huge win for the Canadiens.

He has become a leader on the ice and a mentor and guy to help the prospects acclimate to the AHL. At just 24 years old, he is still quite young, but when compared with Suzuki, both players have played quite a bit of professional hockey. So his age and experience were assuredly taken into context when Kent Hughes signed the native of Smogen, Sweden. 

The 2024 season is just eight games in, so it is early to get overhyped about a strong start. But Andersson has been off to a rampant start with the Rocket. Through his first eight games, the 5’11” centerman has scored nine points (seven goals and two assists). Not only has he been effective offensively, but his strong two-way play has been a huge help for the young Rocket roster.

While I agree it would be fun to see Joshua Roy or one of the other young guys like Sean Farrell called up, keeping them in a position where they can play 20 minutes a night is best for their development. Andersson, however, has played at the NHL level, and he gives the organization some wiggle room, allowing the younger guys to resume developing with Laval.

He has been brilliant around the net, and his positioning has gained him ample scoring chances. He almost batted a puck out of the air for a tally, but the puck went wide. If nothing else, the confidence it takes to try and score a cheeky goal like that is pretty high. The Canadiens lack shooters, and that could be Andersson’s calling card, especially with Emil Heineman injured and Jesse Ylonen playing more of a defensive style these days.

With Juraj Slafkovsky struggling, and Christian Dvorak inching closer to a return, there could be some roster shuffling. I suspect that Andersson’s strong play may earn him the nod, and he may need to take a drive down the road to Montreal. They could use an added scoring touch to the lineup, and his smart positional play just might translate to the NHL rink.

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