Marc Bergevin thought he had found a power forward when he found Josh Anderson and that Max Domi's first season in Montreal would never be replicated...was he right?

While hockey is a fast game, there is still room in the NHL for big forwards who can carry their weight with enough speed. For years, the Montreal Canadiens didn't have a power forward on their roster, a player who could both play physically and put points up.  

The Trade

GM Marc Bergevin thought he had found just the one when he sent forward Max Domi and a third-round pick in the 2020 draft to the Columbus Blue Jackets in return for Josh Anderson. It has been nearly four years since the GM pulled the trigger on that deal on Oct. 6, 2020. Two days later, he signed Anderson to a seven-year pact worth $38.5 M. Clearly, Bergevin was confident the 224 pounds and six-foot-three player would become the power forward his team had been lacking for so long. 

The Aftermath

Four years down the line, Anderson has put up 108 points in 268 games for a 0.49 point-per-game average and recorded 249 penalty minutes while carrying a $5.5 M cap hit. 

Meanwhile, Max Domi signed a two-year contract extension with the Blue Jackets worth $10.6 M and carrying a $5.3 M cap hit. Columbus moved Domi in a three-way trade at the 2022 trade deadline which brought them Aidan Hreschu. Domi finished the season with the Carolina Hurricanes before signing as a free agent with the Chicago Blackhawks for one year. The Hawks then traded him to the Dallas Stars alongside Dylan Wells for goaltender Anton Khudobin. 

Finally, he signed a one-year deal with Toronto to prove his worth at a $3 M salary which was extended for four years this off-season with a team-friendly $3.75 M cap hit. Across all of his destinations, Domi has amassed 166 points in 286 games for an average of 0.59 point-per-game while also picking up 330 penalty minutes. 

Clearly, Anderson suffers in this comparison, however, his latest season skews the analysis. He struggled mightily and could only put up 20 points but his previous three seasons saw him pick up 32 points twice and 24 in his first year in Montreal when he missed 30 games due to injuries. Strangely, his less productive season is the one where he missed only four games. 

The Verdict

Even though Domi has been the more productive player of the two since the trade, it's hard to say the Blue Jackets won the day on that one. Tie Domi's son only stayed in Columbus for a couple of years after which he was traded for an obscure player who might never make it to the NHL. Aidan Hreschuk still hasn't signed his entry-level deal and his performance over his three years in the NCAA with Boston College are nothing to write home about. 

This third round pick they got from the Canadiens turned into defenseman Samuel Knazko who has played with the Cleveland Monsters for the last couple of season, only playing 2 games with the Blue Jackets. 

Montreal kind of wins this one by default as the Canadiens got an NHL player that stuck around, but with Anderson's latest season there are serious concerns he'll never become what Bergevin believed he would be. Right now, he's got two years left on his contract to turn things around in a big way and make the trade a real win for the Habs. 

Final note on Domi, I believe he got to Montreal at the wrong time and with the wrong coach. He did have one fantastic 72-point season in his first year in Montreal, but he ran into a wall in the second and just couldn't recover. During the "Bubble Playoffs" he was used on the team's fourth line with spare parts. 

Had Martin St. Louis been the coach then, I really wonder what the forward could have accomplished with the team. This past season with the Leafs, he gathered 47 points in 80 games, but that was with a very slow start. Once Sheldon Keefe gave him better linemates, his offensive output ramped up. In the last playoffs, he played an important role, finding himself on Auston Matthews' line and showing up for all seven games of the series, unlike some of his teammates. I'll be keeping an eye on the Maple Leafs next season, just to know how well he does under Craig Berube.