Uncle Scrooge
Hockey Bettor
Yeah I meant the contract. I didn't even remember what he was traded for. Anderson barely played that year and some people even saw him as borderline negative value as he was due for a contract, Columbus wasn't keeping him and his health/form was a question mark.Montreal didn't overpay for anderson, they overpaid him.
Domi and a 3rd was fine at the time but Bergevin gave him too much money and term.
He's still a much better player than jeannot, and aside from his atrocious year, he's good for 20 goals a year in a middle six role -
Whether we're talking contract or trade is besides the point, GM's will always value these guys and are willing to take risks because not a lot of teams have that physical presence with the required offense needed to play top 9.
You mention Anderson is good for 20 goals, and that's what Jeannot did the year before. I'd even say the season Jeannot had was better than most of Anderson's seasons. He was really bringing the physicality while scoring 24 goals, 41 points and racked up 130 PIMS. I'm sure Tampa looked at that and thought they could get that player instead of the Jeannot we see now.
Which to be fair, was something they haven't had in a long time. They had their own playoff disappointments in the past lacking physicality against the Caps for instance, and losing their 3rd line that brought a different element allowing them to win those cups was a big blow.
It was a bad mistake, but I can see the reasoning behind it.