Why the Canadiens Absolutely Need Josh Anderson

The Montreal Canadiens’ Josh Anderson isn’t a hockey player you watch because of the numbers. You don't necessarily notice everything he does in the box score. Watch a Canadiens game for a while, though, and you start to understand why coaches keep finding a place for him. Anderson isn't the 25-goal scorer he was earlier in his career. But that's probably not the version they need him to be anymore.

Anderson gives the Canadiens something harder to find in the playoffs.

The obvious thing is the combination of size and speed. At 6-foot-3 and 227 pounds, Anderson can get moving through the neutral zone and then make life miserable for defenders when he gets into their end. He doesn't do anything fancy. Sometimes his best play is simply getting there first, finishing a check and making the defenceman wish he had gotten rid of the puck sooner. Over a long playoff series, that kind of thing starts to add up.

And that's really where Anderson has made himself valuable. He has become the kind of player who can change the feel of a shift without scoring. He forechecks hard, gets into the corners, battles for loose pucks and creates turnovers. Then there is the penalty kill. There, his speed gives Montreal another way to pressure opposing power plays. He's not going to quarterback the offence, but he can make an opposing defenceman work every time he steps over the boards.

Anderson knows who he is and what he has to do to be valuable.

The interesting thing is that Anderson seems to have figured out what kind of player he needs to be at this stage of his career. There was a time when the Canadiens were hoping for 20 or 25 goals from him. That version of Anderson was useful, but the current version may actually be better suited to playoff hockey. Last season he scored 14 goals in 72 games, but his bigger contribution came from doing the little things that don't always show up in the box score.

That's also why Montreal has a decision to make with Anderson's contract. He's entering the final year of his deal, and eventually the Canadiens will have to decide whether that kind of veteran presence is worth paying for. Personally, this is where I'd be careful about assuming a player like Anderson can simply be replaced by a younger, cheaper player. Maybe Florian Xhekaj eventually becomes that guy. Maybe he doesn't.

Finding a 200-foot forward like Anderson can be difficult.

You can find players who score goals. You can find players who hit. You can find players who kill penalties. Finding a big winger who can do all three while skating well and bringing some playoff experience isn't quite as easy. And that's Josh Anderson's value to Montreal. He doesn't have to be the star. He just has to be the guy opponents don't particularly want to play against for four rounds in April.