While pressure remains on winger Josh Anderson, young top-line forwards Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield are big components of the Montreal Canadiens' blueprint for success.
Welcome once again to the NHL Hot Seat Radar series, today featuring the Montreal Canadiens.
We’re identifying a player, coach or management member as being on the 'hot seat' – namely, someone dealing with notable pressure to produce above-average results or affect their future with their team. In addition, we’re also picking a person on the 'cold seat' as someone extremely secure in their relationship with their team.
Canadiens’ Hot Seat: Josh Anderson, RW
Anderson has been a prominent veteran for Montreal since 2020. But after posting 21 goals in 69 games in 2022-23, the 30-year-old generated just nine goals in 78 games this past season.
Given his salary cap hit of $5.5 million – which runs through the next three seasons – Anderson needs to produce much more than that to justify the investment the team has made in him. But his days of scoring at least 20 goals per year appear well behind him, and his age makes him expendable in a way most Canadiens youngsters are not.
Anderson’s no-trade clause allows him to pick five teams he can refuse a trade to, but that still leaves 26 teams that he can be moved to. And at this point in his career, shouldn’t Anderson welcome a trade to a team with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations? A deep playoff run – or a playoff run at all – is almost assuredly not going to happen in Montreal when the Habs are at least a year or two away from being a playoff team, let alone a Cup contender.
For that reason, Anderson couldn’t be faulted for wanting a change of scenery, but he must step it up in a big way to provide enough value for another team. Even still, Montreal might have to retain some of his salary to get a team to bite on him in a trade.
But if it means opening up a roster spot for an up-and-coming youngster, the Canadiens should be doing what they can to deal him. Anderson just isn’t looking like a great fit for the Canadiens at this stage in his career.
Canadiens’ Cold Seat: (tie) Cole Caufield, LW, and Nick Suzuki, C
The 24-year-old Suzuki and 23-year-old Caufield led Montreal on offense in 2023-24, combining for 61 goals and 142 points.
They’re also far and away the Canadiens’ top-paid players, with Suzuki’s $7.85-million cap hit and Caufield’s $7.8-million hit as the biggest investment made by Habs GM Kent Hughes.
Caufield's goals production leveled off last year, as he had 28 goals in 82 games compared to 26 goals in 46 outings the season prior. His shooting percentage dropped 8.9 percent from 16.5 percent, but if he has even a 15-percent shooting percentage with over 300 shots again to get more than 40 goals, Montreal brass will be thrilled.
Interestingly, Caufield has no no-trade or no-move clauses in his contract, which runs for the next four seasons. Suzuki, meanwhile, has neither a no-trade nor a no-move clause for the next two seasons, but for the subsequent two years, he can pick 10 teams he wouldn’t accept a trade to. But the idea of moving either young star is heresy for Montreal fans.
The big question is whether Montreal's top scorers can get fans even more excited by increasing their scoring. Suzuki was close to averaging a point per game last season, with 77 points in 82 games. There might not be nearly as much pressure on him and Caufield to step it up as there is on Anderson, but doing so could show they have what it takes to lead the team once the Canadiens do exit the rebuild.
Another youngster who doesn’t have to worry about being dealt is winger Juraj Slafkovsky, but he’s still honing his craft. Suzuki and Caufield have also been around a bit longer than Slafkovsky, and their roots in the organization grow deeper. Caufield and Suzuki are bedrock components of the Canadiens’ foundation, and for that reason, the Habs’ coldest seat belongs to the young duo.
How many goals do you think Caufield could score next season? Let us know your thoughts by clicking here.
Get the latest news and trending stories right to your inbox by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or by visiting our forum.