Montreal Canadiens: Lias Andersson Making Case To Be Next Player Called Up

The Montreal Canadiens are having an incredibly mediocre season. What I mean by that is they can't seem to string togethers wins but they also never seem to lose many in a row either.

They just go along their way winning a couple here and losing a couple there while grabbing the odd extra point when it is available. It has seen them be on pace for between 80-85 points for most of the season which is incredible consistent for an NHL team.

Consistency is great for any sports team but when you are just consistently pretty good, not terrible, it isn't enough to get you into the postseason. That means the team is going to be sellers when the trade deadline inches closer and we could see a handful of veterans shipped out of town before the end of the season.

Even if there are only a few trades, there are always injuries that pile up on a team and reinforcements are always needed. The Canadiens have already made a few call ups this season with Jayden Struble and Joshua Roy looking good after starting the season with the Laval Rocket.

When the Canadiens inevitably need to dip into the minor leagues for another callup, they have plenty of options. However, Lias Andersson is making himself hard to be ignored with his incredible play of late.

The 25 year old was the 7th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft but has just 17 points in 110 career NHL games. He signed with the Canadiens last summer on a one year contract and passed through waivers in October before being assigned to the Laval Rocket.

The offensive minded center got off to a great start, scoring seven goals and nine points in his first six games with the Rocket. Andersson was then held off the scoresheet for a few games before being injured and missing nearly seven weeks of action.

The Swedish center returned on December 22nd but once again was held scoreless for four games. He finally added a point on January 7th against the Utica Comets and has been on fire ever since. With a pair of assists in a 3-2 Rocket win last night, Andersson now has four goals and nine points in his last six games.

Not so coincidentally, the Rocket are 5-0-1 in those six games and have jumped right back into the AHL playoff race. If Andersson keeps playing like this, he may not be involved in that race as he could find himeslf in the NHL lineup for a while.