The Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired forward Max Domi and a 2020 3rd round pick (78th overall) from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for forward Josh Anderson.
The Blue Jackets needed a center, and the Canadiens needed a winger, so it makes sense why these teams would have interest in the players that they got. However, their values don\’t line up. Domi is more valuable than Anderson, and throwing in the third rounder is the icing on the cake. While Pierre-Luc Dubois has become a top line center for Columbus, Domi can slot in on the second line, and he can also play the wing. The only problem is that both are RFAs, and with limited cap space, the Blue Jackets offseason will get more interesting. They can create cap space by putting Brandon Dubinsky on LTIR, and buying out Alexander Wennberg, a move that they were rumored to be considering. In his two years with the Habs, Domi has succeeded, especially in 2018-19, when he scored a career high 28 goals with 72 points. Anderson is a decent middle-six scorer, and had a very good 2018-19 as well, but he has had disputes with the Blue Jackets. In 2017 he requested a trade before signing a three year deal, and there were rumors that he did not want to be in Columbus this time around. If that is true, then the Blue Jackets did very well with not much leverage, getting a big need in a center, and adding a pick for tomorrow\’s portion of the draft.
Domi, 25, scored 17 goals with 27 assists for 44 points in 71 games for the Canadiens in 2019-20, with three assists in 10 playoff games. In his NHL career for Montreal and the Arizona Coyotes, Domi has 81 goals with 170 assists for 251 points in 375 games.
No one is surprised that the Canadiens would have interest in Anderson, even after his rough year. His 27 goal 2018-19 campaign was a breakout season, and we didn\’t get to see if he could rebound the next year because of injuries. He missed a lot of time thanks to knee surgery, and did not play in the playoffs because of his shoulder. When healthy, Anderson can be a second line winger, and play on the penalty kill and power play, and is a big body, standing six feet and three inches tall. The Habs will try to sign the RFA long-term.
Anderson, 26, scored one goal with three assists for four points in 26 games for the Blue Jackets in 2019-20. In his NHL career, all for Columbus, the former 4th rounder has 65 goals with 50 assists for 115 points in 267 games.
CarterHud 