As the trade deadline draws increasingly near, the name Josh Anderson continues to be often linked to the Boston Bruins (and NBC Sports Boston’s Joe Haggerty indicated the Bruins are, in fact, interested in him).
But is the Columbus Blue Jackets winger a player the Bruins should be targeting? Maybe not.
There’s no questioning the talent Anderson has. While this has been a down year for him both in terms of health and productivity, he’s still coming off a 2018-19 season in which he played all 82 regular-season games, posting 27 goals and 20 assists. He’s a real heavy player, bringing a bruising style that often is useful in the postseason — which the Bruins saw firsthand last season.
But here’s the reality: At present, a lot more things are working against the Bruins-Anderson murmurs than for them.
For one, a shoulder injury has kept Anderson out of action since Dec. 14. He’s been skating at practice and could be near a return, but nevertheless it’s been a minute since he’s experienced game action. And in the limited time he played, 26 games, he has just one goal and three assists.
He carries a $1.85 million cap hit this season, so that would be manageable for the Bruins. However, he’s a restricted free agent this offseason, and the Bruins already have plenty of free agents to worry about (Torey Krug, Jake DeBrusk, Matt Grzelcyk, Jaroslav Halak and so on). And despite the down year, it seems unlikely that would make Anderson a bargain this offseason given not just his ceiling, but also the demonstrated body of work has at the NHL level.
And it’s for that reason that both signing him to an agreeable number and just acquiring him would be a challenge for the Bruins. Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen is known for being a tough negotiator, and it’s doubtful he would give up Anderson for a diminished return. During the latest episode of the “31 Thoughts” podcast, SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman wondered if the Blue Jackets would be able to get the same return for Anderson that the New Jersey Devils did for Blake Coleman. That was a first-round pick and Nolan Foote, who was a first-round pick in the 2019 draft.
When you view this all together, it’s tough to see the benefit in trying to make an Anderson trade work. He hasn’t played in two months, has struggled to be effective when he’s in and it would cost quite a bit to land him. The Bruins are in a spot right now where they don’t have much wiggle room to swing and miss on a trade, and Anderson at this juncture would be a pretty big gamble. Don Sweeney has expressed regret for giving up a first-round pick for Rick Nash a few years back, and that trade didn’t pan out for reasons beyond either side’s control. If Sweeney only is willing to part with a first-rounder for only the highest tier of guys, Anderson doesn’t fit that mold.
Of course, if the Bruins were to land the 25-year-old and he found his form, then he very much would elevate Boston’s middle six. But recent history shows that’s no sure thing, so the prudent move seems like it would be to pass on him.
