When the Columbus Blue Jackets acquired Max Domi from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Josh Anderson, both teams hoped they had traded for an offensive player that would bring a much-needed element to their lineup.
On the surface, then, one would conclude that the Canadiens 'won' the trade. Anderson scored 17 goals and was a physical presence this season in Montreal. Meanwhile, Domi was often in John Tortorella's doghouse, playing at times on the fourth line and even being healthy scratched for two consecutive games.
But the reality is a bit more nuanced. In some ways, each player's season embodied his new team's season. While Anderson was electric on some nights, he was the same streaky player who sometimes left one wanting more as he did when he was in Columbus. Anderson is on an 11-game pointless streak and was held without a point in 33 of 52 games this season. Domi was brought into Columbus to provide an offensive spark and be an elite playmaker, even if his defensive game had warts. Instead, he struggled mightily to find a productive role, and his defensive woes were reflective of the Blue Jackets' overall inability to keep the puck out of their net.
Still, I was shocked when I saw the below tweet.
Josh Anderson and Max Domi have the same amount of points??? Lmao
— Jeremy Crowe (@307x) May 11, 2021
My initial thought was: wait, I thought Anderson had a strong season? And funny enough, for his standards, he did, marginally improving his points/game rate (0.44 career points/game) to 0.46. On the other hand, Domi (career points/game rate of 0.64) fell to 0.44 this past season.
But this is surely not what the Canadiens were hoping for when they acquired Anderson, and likewise for Domi and the Blue Jackets. The problem for the Canadiens is that, unlike Domi, Anderson has six (!) more seasons under contract. That's a lot of term, and a lot of dollars, for a 27-year old with a career-high of 47 points.
6 years after this one for Josh Anderson at $5.5M pic.twitter.com/iDn6VkpHli
— J (@Account4hockey) May 10, 2021
Let's not kid ourselves. Domi didn't exactly exceed expectations in his first year in Columbus. He failed to consistently show the high-end playmaking skill that this team desperately needs, and he clearly frustrated Tortorella with his penalty minutes (today I learned that Domi trails only Tom Wilson in PIMs this season). On the other hand, with just one more season at $5.3M before he becomes a UFA, the Blue Jackets cap flexibility is a nice silver lining over Anderson.
The Blue Jackets will look entirely different next season than they did when they completed this season. A new coach, a new philosophy, a new vision, with new players, could give Domi a chance to reset his game in a way in which he was unable to this season. But if not, at least the Blue Jackets won't be on the hook for five more years after next season ends.
At the end of the day, I'm not sure I can say that I would prefer Domi over Anderson. But I can say that both players underwhelmed in their first season with their respective new team.
