Thursday noon in Brossard, journalists wait at Josh Anderson’s locker. Ten minutes earlier, his head coach, Martin St-Louis, had just devoted a good part of his press briefing to explaining his management of the big winger who was out of fuel.
Before arriving, Anderson is intercepted by Chantal Machabée, who is doing her job as vice-president of communications, which is to brief the player in view of upcoming topics.
It’s unclear what is said, but Anderson presents himself with a smile, rather than appearing dejected, as many attackers in his situation might be.
His words, on the other hand, are those of a lethargic winger.
It’s very hard, I won’t lie. You always wonder when you’re going to get out of this lethargy. I have to come to work every day, work hard and pull. I keep telling myself it’s going to fit.
Josh Anderson
Anderson is stuck at one goal, scored into an empty net. This means that his 62 other shots this season have been blocked by the opposing goalie, without forgetting off-target shots, like the one in the third period on Wednesday, at point blank range, on a puck served to him by Sean Monahan.
“It’s hard to go back home,” he conceded. Before, I watched the highlights, all the matches. At the moment, I’m trying to stay away from that, to arrive with new energy on the ice. Tomorrow will be a new day. »
His lethargy is reminiscent of that he experienced in 2019-2020, when he wore the colors of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Ontarian had then scored one goal in 27 games, but we later learned that he was playing despite a damaged shoulder. It was to undergo an operation that he ended his season in December.
This time, health does not seem to be an issue. Five players were exempt from Thursday’s practice, but not Anderson, who shot profusely at the net during the drill.
Applaud despite everything
If Anderson is smiling, it is in particular because he feels a certain support. The fans gave him a warm welcome when St. Louis selected him during the interminable shootout session on Wednesday.
A welcome that he found “cool”. “It means a lot to me. I would have liked a different conclusion, but it was cool to hear that reaction. »
But when things go wrong…Anderson’s shot was blocked, then on the 12the Penguins shooter Jansen Harkins immediately responded with a goal for the victory.
And the coach?
In 1990, the legendary Jeff Healey took on the very ordinary While My Guitar Gently Weeps, by the Beatles, to make it a masterpiece. An artist is sometimes said to “cover” a song; in this case, good Jeff “fixed” it.
All this to say that St. Louis finds itself a bit like Jeff Healey, with a mandate to repair Anderson.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The head coach of the Canadiens, Martin St-Louis
It starts with a certain amount of confidence. Let’s not include here the decision to send him into a shootout; Anderson was on the 12the CH player to set off. Additionally, Anderson has never been a shootout specialist.
The Canadian head coach nevertheless continues to use him in the numerical advantage, even if the number 17 only has one point in this situation this season. Anderson has been used for 48% of the CH’s power play minutes so far; only Barrett Hayton, TJ Oshie and Pierre-Luc Dubois play a greater share of their team’s minutes, among forwards caught at zero or one point on the power play.
“He was on the first wave, now he is on the second,” St-Louis said. But we have a lot of injuries. We also have guys who play shorthanded, so I try to distribute the time. But he had a breakdown. »
At 5 against 5, he maintains his permanence in the first three trios. Either way, St-Louis doesn’t seem like a coach in a hurry to send his veteran into the stands.
“The time to do it is if the player gives up on himself. If you give up, I’ll give up on you. » The signs that St-Louis observes? “The attitude, the work habits, the commitment. He’s here, Josh. »
We could add, very realistically, that St. Louis is caught up in finding a solution. At the end of this season, Anderson’s contract, which is worth $5.5 million per season, will have three years remaining. In the last 12 months, only three players with three years or more on contracts, worth more than five million dollars, have been traded.
- Erik Karlsson: 4 years, at 11.5 million
- Kevin Hayes: 3 years, at 7.143 million
- Mattias Ekholm: 3 years, at 6.25 million
Some caveats are necessary. Hayes is the only forward in the bunch, and the Flyers almost gave him away: they had to withhold part of his salary and got a pick 6e round.
Karlsson, although not the most reliable defensively, had still just won the Norris, and the Penguins had to drop salary everywhere to accommodate him. The kind of contortion that is easier for a star player to do.
Ekholm earned the Predators a 1st picker tour, but we are talking here about a second pair defender, with a good physique, capable of scoring around thirty points per year. In short, a rare commodity.
A contract buyout? If Kent Hughes didn’t do it for the last year of the very one-dimensional Mike Hoffman’s contract, he won’t do it for Anderson, a player still capable of helping the team differently. “It’s not as if Josh and the others who are in difficulty don’t help the team,” St-Louis said. You have to find other ways, defensively or, for Josh, bring a physical presence. »
In short, Anderson and the Canadian are doomed to make it work. They now have some 50 games to clear the top 30.
In short
Harris on skates, Primeau on leave
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Jordan Harris
Jordan Harris was seen on the ice at the Canadiens’ training center on Thursday. Remember that on Tuesday, the team announced that it was “10 to 14 days” from a return to play. In addition, five players were entitled to one day of treatment and were exempt from training. They are forwards Brendan Gallagher, Jake Evans and Christian Dvorak, defenseman Mike Matheson and goalie Cayden Primeau. Gallagher was shaken during Wednesday’s loss to Pittsburgh. Primeau’s time off was more surprising, however, since the masked man hasn’t played since Saturday.
From the special visit
PHOTO GREG M. COOPER, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Jack Hughes
Surprise when we arrived in Brossard: two young people dressed all in red were practicing with the Canadiens’ director of hockey development, Adam Nicholas. They were Jack Hughes (not the Devils player, calm down) and Jack Gorton, the sons of Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton, respectively. Both are playing for Boston University this season, and the hockey season is on break for the holidays. Gorton goes undrafted, but Hughes is a No. 2 picke Kings tour in 2022. Let’s say it was special to see a prospect from another organization wearing Canadian pants…