Revisiting The Max Domi for Josh Anderson Trade
The Blue Jackets prepare to take on the Montreal Canadiens tonight in a matchup of two teams struggling to find points in the standings. The Canadiens feature two prominent former Blue Jackets on their roster: free agent signee defenseman David Savard; and forward Josh Anderson, who was acquired from the Blue Jackets two years ago via trade. Today we’ll revisit that trade.
Originally selected in the 4th round (#95 overall) at the 2012 NHL Draft, Josh Anderson slowly emerged from depth player in the OHL, to top-six forward with the London Knights, in the two years after the Jackets took a chance on him. In his draft year he scored 12 goals and 22 points; but followed that up with a 23 goal, 49 point effort in 2012-13, then setting OHL career-highs with 27 goals and 51 points in just 59 games during his final OHL season.
Anderson turned pro for the 2014-15 season and would be allowed to develop slowly, spending the bulk of his first two pro seasons in the AHL. He was a key part of the 2016 Calder Cup run by the then-Lake Erie Monsters, alongside a handful of other future Jackets.
The following fall, Anderson made the Jackets and quickly became a fan favorite. At 6-3 and over 220 pounds, he stood out on the ice because of his rare combination of size, speed, physicality, and finishing ability. His first full season in the NHL was outstanding – he scored 17 goals, 29 points, and added 81 penalty minutes in 78 games played.
He broke out in a big way in 2018-19, scoring 27 goals and 47 points – while maintaining a +25 rating for the Jackets. Josh seemed like he was emerging as an important part of the core in Columbus – especially after the mass exodus of players in the summer of 2019.
Unfortunately, injuries caught up with him and the following season, he was only able to skate in 26 games for the team before a contract dispute, prompting his trade. Over the course of his Jackets career, Anderson would go on to score 65 goals and 115 points in 267 games played.
The two teams seemed destined to make a trade…
With the aforementioned exodus of players in 2019, the Blue Jackets played the 2019-20 season without much offensive firepower at all. We thought we had a true #1 center in Pierre-Luc Dubois (that’s an article on its own); but what the club really needed was a #2 guy with some offensive firepower to play behind him. Enter Max Domi.
Originally Arizona’s 1st round pick (#12 overall) at the 2013 NHL Draft, Domi was a prominent scorer in junior from the time he hit the ice. Over 4 seasons in the OHL, he played in 244 games, scoring 126 goals and 331 points, while adding 275 minutes in penalties. The son of former NHL enforcer Tie Domi, Max was raised with an NHL pedigree, spending a lot of time around the Toronto Maple Leafs as a kid.
He was pretty productive in his first three seasons in Arizona, scoring 36 goals and 135 points in 222 games played. But his play was declining after an impressive rookie season, leaving the Coyotes to wonder what they actually had. Montreal saw the potential here and swapped struggling former third overall pick Alex Galchenyuk for Domi in 2018; immediately signing him to a two-year contract extension.
His first season in Montreal was far and away his best in the NHL. Domi played in all 82 games, scoring 28 goals and 72 points for the Canadiens, along with 80 penalty minutes and a +20 rating. But he struggled in his second season for the Habs, finding himself moved up and down the lineup, scoring just 17 goals and 44 points in 71 games.
Another change of scenery seemed in order for Max, who wanted to play center in Montreal, but wasn’t getting the opportunity any longer. The Canadiens were long thought to be interested in Josh Anderson. They wanted a power forward, they had an extra center … the Blue Jackets had the power forward, but they wanted a center. The two teams seemed destined to make a trade, and that’s exactly what happened.
We were excited to have what should have been our most potent 1-2 punch down the middle in franchise history…
With two players needing a change of scenery, and two teams with different needs, the Canadiens and Blue Jackets made a deal work – swapping the two former junior teammates for one another, with the Jackets securing an extra draft pick in the process:
The Canadiens got their long-awaited power forward, and Anderson was big for them right away. He scored twice in their season opener, but struggled to maintain such a pace over the course of the season (who would?). He scored 17 goals and 24 points in 52 games; adding another 5 goals in 22 games in the playoff bubble, where the Canadiens made a Cinderella run to the Cup Finals before bowing out.
In the three seasons post-trade, Anderson has totaled 40 goals, 62 points and 124 minutes in penalties in 135 games played. Unfortunately for Josh and the Habs, he’s missed time due to both injuries and suspensions, while the entire team has struggled with consistency.
Domi signed a 2-year $10.6 million dollar contract and was immediately penciled in to center the second line by many Jacket fans. We were excited to have what should have been our most potent 1-2 punch down the middle in franchise history, with Dubois and Domi leading the way.
But that 2021 season was not what we hoped for. Dubois, disgruntled for still unknown reasons, essentially quit on the team, forcing his trade to Winnipeg. Domi was quickly in John Tortorella’s doghouse, stubbornly relegated to depth minutes on the wing because of undisciplined play and two-way struggles. He played in 54 games, scoring 9 goals and 24 points for the Blue Jackets.
Max’s second year in Columbus was better, but only slightly. Again he scored 9 goals, but this time he added 32 assists in 53 games before being dealt to Carolina at the 2022 trade deadline. In return, the Blue Jackets get prospect defenseman Aidan Hreschuk, originally selected by the Canes in the third round (#94 overall) at the 2021 NHL Draft.
While Anderson has stuck with Montreal and been an important player, neither guy really became what either team hoped for when this trade was made. The return for the Blue Jackets will not be known for several years – the draft pick they acquired in the trade became defense prospect Samuel Knazko. So, we’ll have to see if one of Knazko or Hreschuk become NHL players in the future, to get a full idea of how this trade worked out.
Next. Prospect Watch: Don't Forget About Corson Ceulemans. dark