No way in hell would I sign Kakko at that cap hit. He's never proven to be more than a 3rd liner.

Rangers will be asking for a 1st to trade for him. This way you only pay a 2nd. NY Rangers likely won't match this offer sheet. Similar to Kotkaniemi deal. Sign for more, if Kakko plays well, sign him to a long-term team friendly contract. Don't forget Jeff Gorton drafted Kakko.

This is so bad, trading Anderson when his value is at an all time low, giving up that many futures, taking back an equally bad contract in JGP and then signing Kakko to that even worse contract is a sure fire way to ensure the Habs remain a bottom 5 team for at least a.nother 3 years, probably more like 5 years.

Who cares? This is the most tired narrative on the site. Josh haters are fed up and Josh defenders are annoyed.

I realize people on this site just like to trade just so they can trade but trading Josh makes zero sense rn.
I've been saying the same thing consistently and not wavering whether he scored 20 goals in 60 games last year or his struggles this year, Josh style is valued around the league and the Habs arent a cap team. He loves it in MTL and he's one of the leaders on the team. He was a difference maker in that 2021 run.

He's still young and had a bad year. It happens on a bad team. He's a consistent 20 goal man. You don't trade a guy that can easily bounce back when even a guy like Joel Armia can recover after 2 terrible years and Anderson has a better track record than Joel Armia for crying out loud. MSL is working with him and Josh is trying to change his style with weekly video sessions. He's not lazy but he's been clearly adjusting his game much like Gallagher whom played a ton better to finish the year.

They have no reason to dump Anderson when they have 20M in cap space and everyone signed. Josh is the type of player teams covet for the playoffs and Gorton/Hughes clearly value him and guys his size. They are way too small up front. One of Mesar/Farrell will be gone but Josh wont get traded unless a team overpays or he struggles another 2-3 year.



Desperate moves like the Leafs made signing Tavares should be avoided. Never make impulse moves. The Leafs acted with emotion there instead of signing legit top4 D. They didnt need a Tavares and the Habs dont need to trade a Josh Anderson whom they'd just look to replace with the same type of player. They have teams over the barrel with the cap crunch whether its the Rangers, Panthers or Avalanche. Use that leverage, accordingly with their draft stock.

Worst case scenario you just give Anderson the Armia treatment and send him to Laval to build his game back up again, no reason to dump him.