Player Discussion Josh Anderson - The Rene Bourque Edition

[Tyson]

How is it possible that a player that skates that well, possesses a great shot, has impressive size...how does a player like this have one goal in his last 25 games?

 

[Rapala]

How is it possible that a player that skates that well, possesses a great shot, has impressive size...how does a player like this have one goal in his last 25 games?

What I can't fathom is how he is so totally clueless in his own end of the rink. He's completely lost in his own headspace.

 

[Tyson]

What I can't fathom is how he is so totally clueless in his own end of the rink. He's completely lost in his own headspace.

The man on man is hurting him big time.

 

[rik schau]

Some marriages are a blessing,some are a curse.

 

[Le Barron de HF]

I vote for the name thread to be changed. It's demeaning for Rene Bourque; the dude accomplished more than this guy.

 

[Rapala]

I vote for the name thread to be changed. It's demeaning for Rene Bourque; the dude accomplished more than this guy.

Those important two points against Tampa when we swept them already had him ahead of Josh in my books.

 

[lamp9post]

How is it possible that a player that skates that well, possesses a great shot, has impressive size...how does a player like this have one goal in his last 25 games?

He doesn't have that great a shot.

 

[LaP]

He doesn't have that great a shot.

His IQ is also some of the worst i've seen. IQ wise he's 4th line material.

 

[Rapala]

His IQ is also some of the worst i've seen. IQ wise he's 4th line material.

I like my fourth line being able to clear the zone he's not even showing that.

 

[LaP]

I like my fourth line being able to clear the zone he's not even showing that.

I think Anderson reminds me Stevenson more than Bourque. Bourque was lazy but could 100% play hockey.

 

[ReHabs]

I don't think it is fair to insulate every single player from any sort of criticism with the phantom, hidden injury claim. If Hughes wants to keep protecting his agency's client, that's fine -- at least announce he's taking injury therapy days to take some heat off. But if there is no announcement or nothing said, there shouldn't be speculation that he's carrying a phantom injury.

My personal speculation is pessimistic as usual because I don't see how this is part of a new or better culture. If MSL wasn't so scared of upsetting the vets Anderson would have been dropped from the lineup at least to send him a message. He has six shots in the last five games, 0pts. Come on la.

Maxim Lapierre was 100% correct -- what is this culture MSL wants to foment?

 

[Rapala]

I don't think it is fair to insulate every single player from any sort of criticism with the phantom, hidden injury claim. If Hughes wants to keep protecting his agency's client, that's fine -- at least announce he's taking injury therapy days to take some heat off. But if there is no announcement or nothing said, there shouldn't be speculation that he's carrying a phantom injury.

My personal speculation is pessimistic as usual because I don't see how this is part of a new or better culture. If MSL wasn't so scared of upsetting the vets Anderson would have been dropped from the lineup at least to send him a message. He has six shots in the last five games, 0pts. Come on la.

Maxim Lapierre was 100% correct -- what is this culture MSL wants to foment?

My take for this off season is very simple.
Management have to show the guys that are busting their balls that they are serious about this culture thing.
The warm fuzzy feeling can desert a team quicker than a blink of the eye if the perception in the room changes.
I have no idea how they go about it but my preference is they replace the low hanging fruit at the very least.
More team toughness harder to play against and more time spent in the right end of the rink.
It doesn't mean we can't grab that top six piece but it does send a proper message at the very least.

 

[tnq]

Wow i think he was not in the roster

 

[ReHabs]

My take for this off season is very simple.
Management have to show the guys that are busting their balls that they are serious about this culture thing.
The warm fuzzy feeling can desert a team quicker than a blink of the eye if the perception in the room changes.
I have no idea how they go about it but my preference is they replace the low hanging fruit at the very least.
More team toughness harder to play against and more time spent in the right end of the rink.
It doesn't mean we can't grab that top six piece but it does send a proper message at the very least.

I don't understand -- do you think Josh Anderson is easily moveable? Kent Hughes could've moved his agency's player at the first trade deadline... if he wanted to move him. He could've moved him in his first off-season as GM... if he wanted to move him. He missed his window of opportunity and Anderson played worse and worse.

This summer the management has to prove to the players they aren't just satisfied that everybody comes to the rink with a smile on their face. I don't think a professional sports team should think that's the goal. Maybe the Bergevin Habs were a bit too serious and emotionally brittle but it was because they were expected to win (and obligated to win for superstar Carey Price). These guys have no expectations placed on them, it's no wonder they're smiling.

 

[Rapala]

I don't understand -- do you think Josh Anderson is easily moveable? Kent Hughes could've moved his agency's player at the first trade deadline... if he wanted to move him. He could've moved him in his first off-season as GM... if he wanted to move him. He missed his window of opportunity and Anderson played worse and worse.

This summer the management has to prove to the players they aren't just satisfied that everybody comes to the rink with a smile on their face. I don't think a professional sports team should think that's the goal. Maybe the Bergevin Habs were a bit too serious and emotionally brittle but it was because they were expected to win (and obligated to win for superstar Carey Price). These guys have no expectations placed on them, it's no wonder they're smiling.

Ahhh
This is where it gets interesting. From the General Manager's mouth "we want be competitive next season."
So when I say low hanging fruits I don't necessarily mean him for reasons we are all aware of and that will have to be handled at the coaching level.
The way I see it Kirby Dach does not immediately make us competitive. I do however think Kirby Dach with a better support group can.
Like I said I don't know how they will accomplish this I just feel they have to.

 

[habsterr]

His IQ is also some of the worst i've seen. IQ wise he's 4th line material.

His IQ is below 4th-line material. He's lucky that he's huge and fast.

 

[Naslundforever]

How is it possible that a player that skates that well, possesses a great shot, has impressive size...how does a player like this have one goal in his last 25 games?

I don’t find he skates well at all, he skates fast once he gets going but can’t vary speed or direction… you can always tell exactly where he’s going to be after his next stride (usually a foot behind the forever runaway puck).

 

[Team_Spirit]

Maxim Lapierre was 100% correct -- what is this culture MSL wants to foment?

The Oilers and Flyers did it recently. The Habs accept mediocre effort until proven otherwise.

 

[ReHabs]

The Habs accept mediocre effort until proven otherwise.

The Habs accept as much mediocrity from their players as Habs fans and Habs media accept from the Habs. Until that changes, nothing will change. All their talk of culture is really good but until the leads to results, it's meaningless.

Anderson is a very problematic player + contract. Yet barely a mention of him across Habs media or any criticism of the Habs for not at least scratching him for his lack of effort. And if he's injured, shame on the Habs for playing him with an injury.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Hope he is injured because he is completely embarassing himself , i was a fan but the guy is a total bum right now , is this not a professional league?

 

[Mikah]

How is it possible that a player that skates that well, possesses a great shot, has impressive size...how does a player like this have one goal in his last 25 games?

I think he just doesn't have the motivation. The team is nowhere competitive. Montreal has been out of the playoffs two months in the season, and they are focused on developping young talent.

He's a 29 yo veteran, with 3 more years at $5.5M average. It's not like he is trying to prove himself for another contract. I am sure that if in a year or two the team gets competitive, he'll probably put more efforts to get 15-20 goals seasons and perhaps increase his value. But right now, why bother?

 

[Sorinth]

Maxim Lapierre was 100% correct -- what is this culture MSL wants to foment?

Well MSL has stated many times he cares more about process then results.

Now there's an argument that in Josh's case how MSL wants his players to play just doesn't work with Anderson. MSL has talked many times about timing and the subtleties of when to speed up vs when to slow down the play, and watching Anderson he's clearly doing exactly that, and it's also clearly not working. So in terms of things like benching, you can't bench a guy for ineffectiveness when he's doing what you've told him to do it would go counter to the culture. Arguably what should happen is that MSL should give up on getting Anderson to work smart and get him back to his old style of going 100% all the time since even if it's not the best, it's seems better then this current version of him.

I'd also point out that the old school view of working hard meant skating as hard as you can 100% of the time and throwing hits. And I can very much see that definition being the one Lapierre subscribes too since that's the type of player he was. But a more modern view of what working hard would look at things like how much extra time is a person spending in the video room, at practice, working with the skills coaches, at the gym, etc... If MSL is seeing that from Anderson he probably sees him as a hard worker despite the in game ineffectiveness.

 

[Rapala]

I think he just doesn't have the motivation. The team is nowhere competitive. Montreal has been out of the playoffs two months in the season, and they are focused on developping young talent.

He's a 29 yo veteran, with 3 more years at $5.5M average. It's not like he is trying to prove himself for another contract. I am sure that if in a year or two the team gets competitive, he'll probably put more efforts to get 15-20 goals seasons and perhaps increase his value. But right now, why bother?

I don't see our young Captain doing that is he playing for a contract?
Anderson is supposed to be a vet and a leader and should be giving us the same effort as David Savard or Mike Matheson.
Why are we coddling someone we are paying millions of dollars to?
He starting pouting when he got dropped from Suzuki's line and he's pouting even more since he's been dropped from the second line.
He can GTFO if that is his mentality seriously.

 

[Team_Spirit]

People wondering why he should care have to be trolling lmao

2 more games with zeros across the board for the donkey

 

[Beer and Chips]

Being sent to Laval lit a fire under Armia so maybe next season they will be more likely to do the same with Anderson and hope for a similar reaction.