The Canadian’s season was going to end on April 16, and Josh Anderson already knew he wasn’t going to look forward to the next day.
The next day will therefore have been this Wednesday, a day of assessment at the Montreal Canadiens in Brossard. For many, it was a time of goodbyes and promises about a better future.
But for Anderson, it was something else.
“It’s not easy… I’ve had this date marked on my calendar for weeks,” the attacker began by explaining in front of his locker. I had a lot of time to think about all this, and I knew it was going to be a tough day, because I was going to have to answer questions. »
In this specific case, questions about his season were going to be inevitable, firstly because Josh Anderson, by his own admission, has been dismal this year.
The players have to go through a lot, and not just on the ice, so it’s difficult. But we need to talk about it, and I come here before you to be honest… I have been terrible this season (“ I sucked this year). There’s no other way to say it.
Josh Anderson
If the 29-year-old chose to confess on this beautiful Wednesday, it is primarily because he considers himself much better than that. Coldly, his collection of only 20 points (9 goals and 11 assists) in 78 games this season represents the worst of his career in the context of an almost complete season.
The numbers are one thing, but there were also these very long periods of drought which undermined his daily life. Before finally scoring, as part of an offensive festival at the expense of the Philadelphia Flyers at the Bell Center, on April 9, Anderson had not sent a puck into the back of a net since March 2, a drought that lasted 16 very long matches.
This is also how he started the season, having to wait until the 25th.e team’s game on December 4, before celebrating a goal in an empty net.
He has a hard time explaining what happened.
I think it’s a few things…it all ended up snowballing. When you’re not able to score, when you’re unable to contribute offensively, it all ends up piling up, on the ice and also off the ice.
Josh Anderson
“I think I’ll get over it and I can come back strong. I’m still young in this league, I still have the skills to be a good player here. I want to have a good summer and then bring all that with me into the next season. »
Can he do it here, with a team that will badly need offensive production from everyone, not just those named Suzuki, Caufield or Slafkovsky? The management of the Canadian has already announced on Wednesday that none of the club’s current contracts will be bought out. Not to mention that the possibility of an exchange, in the case that concerns us, does not seem very realistic.
So the Canadian is reduced to having to hope that Josh Anderson becomes the Josh Anderson of old again, and why not, for example, the one who scored 21 goals during the 2022-2023 season.
The main person concerned is well aware of all this.
“I have to get back to the caliber of play I had,” he admitted. Martin (St-Louis) is one of the best coaches I have had in my career. Once I manage to fix what I need to fix to be the old Josh Anderson again, I think I’ll fit in very well in this system. »
reference: www.lapresse.ca