Josh Anderson: Craig Button is reportedly willing to give him four more years

Marc-Olivier Cook
Josh Anderson: Craig Button is reportedly willing to give him four more years
Credit: YouTube

Josh Anderson is an important player for the Montreal Canadiens.

When you hear Jeff Gorton say that the organization will never trade him… that's a good indication of just how much the veteran is appreciated in Montreal.

And rightly so, by the way. The guy gives it his all for the team on the ice, and we love players who have that kind of drive here in town.

But the Canadiens will have an important decision to make… and they'll have to make it fairly soon.

Because the reality is, Andy is in the final year of his contract. He'll be a free agent as of July 1st if he hasn't signed a new deal by then—and what might complicate things for the Habs is his market value.

And I don't mean that in a negative way. If Anderson decides he wants to test the free-agent market, there are teams that will be willing to pay him a lot—especially with salaries on the rise in the NHL…

But we know the player loves playing here. We know he's proud to be part of the Habs organization, too. That said, one question arises: if the Habs offer him a contract extension, what would the term look like?

Andy will be 33 next summer, and at some point, his body won't be able to keep up if he maintains the same style of play…

But that doesn't faze Craig Button, who would be willing to give him a four-year contract extension. He spoke about it last night on Tony Marinaro's podcast.

Kent Hughes is good at convincing his players to leave money on the table.

And Anderson, who's been with the organization since the rebuild began, sees that the team will have a chance to win in the coming years. That's what could help the Habs keep him here longer… but the decision has to make sense, too.

Because if Andy asks for a salary of $7 million (and more) per season and also wants a long-term contract, that's likely to happen somewhere other than Montreal.

And that's why, in my view, this situation will be really interesting to follow in the coming months.


Quick Thoughts

– Hehe.

– Too bad.

– Stay tuned.

– His father (who has passed away) would be proud of him.

facebook icon Share twitter icon Tweet linkedin icon Share
Copied!