That’s why Max Domi had to go. Simply put, the Montreal Canadiens feel in the middle position in a position of strength.
And so, on the eve of the 2020 NHL membership draft, they distributed the Canadian Domi and an election draft for the third round to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a 6’3, 222lb. Winger in Josh Anderson.
Anderson’s size and strength are a plus, but his greatest charm is his goal scoring. The Canadians desperately needed a scorer to play with talented players like Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
The Burlington, Ontario native posted a career high of 27 goals in the 2018-19 season. He missed most of the 2019-20 season after recovering from a shoulder injury, but his former team say he is at full strength. It can satisfy a need for Canadians trying to take the next step in their development – making the playoffs consistently.
Due to the needs of Canadians, Anderson is far more valuable than Domi, a fan favorite who was an excess.
Yes, centers are usually more valuable than wingers. They offend their wingers by distributing them and compete with other high quality centers. But what was the value of the Habs in keeping someone they believed had no place on their team? Domi couldn’t even secure a middle position for much of the 2019-20 season, although he saw successes in 2018-19 that mostly played in his desired seat.
Fan requests to see him play more in this year’s pandemic playoffs fell on deaf ears as Domi started the playoffs in the fourth row. In an interview with Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, Domi described his time with the Habs in the Toronto bubble as a “super strange situation” and lamented the lack of communication with the Habs.
Domi revealed some real truths in his final media availability to the Montreal media on Wednesday. He dropped the fact that he didn’t even have an exit meeting with the Canadiens after the season ended. And even if he hadn’t expanded his relationship with coach Claude Julien, his answer might have told us everything we needed to know.
Max Domi about his relationship with C. Julien: “I’d rather not go into that.”
– Richard Labbé (@Richardlabbe) October 7, 2020
Canadian general manager Marc Bergevin claimed the organization hadn’t tried to make life difficult for the 25-year-old with his place on the line-up. Bergevin added that he still considered Domi a “very good hockey player”.
“Sometimes there is a situation in which it is difficult for a player, for whatever reason,” Bergevin told the media on Tuesday evening.
Habs fans may feel robbed that Domi, another player who has openly expressed his love of playing for the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge, is off. You may also be wondering whether trading Domi and having more assets would have been enough for a more established valuation option. Obviously, the Canadians felt that an Anderson deal was better in the short term.
Regardless, Max Domi’s exit was inevitable, and the Canadians found a way to meet a need through a trade rather than getting a round pen that fits into a square hole.
