Quoting: KingofRnR
At a Cap Hit of $4mil/yr, Josh Anderson would be very intriguing but given his low offensive production, inconsistency and injury history, he’s a gamble, hence why he’d only be worth a 2nd + B/C Prospect to us. If MTL wants Pelletier, Coronato or Wolf for that matter, they’ll have to send us an Amazing Deal or Package of Picks/Prospect in return, an offer we can’t refuse type situation
As for affording Anderson if he were to be acquired, I say it’d most likely be Tanev who gets moved out, since he’s older and injury prone. Another option might be Hanifin if Kylington returns and plays well and Hanifin indicates he won’t sign an extension in CGY and we can get a high return for him. Toffoli might be another option if CGY feels Dube, Mangiapane and/or Coronato can replace his offensive production. Finally maybe Zadorov gets moved if we can find a cheaper 3LD option or Dennis Gilbert is able to step in an replace him sufficiently
I know Anderson is polarizing because he's not a numbers darling, but in the real world GMs do overpay for such players.
When you consider both the GM and the coach would really like to have that player and Montreal is under no pressure to move him, that means they can set the price.
Anderson being worth (at least) a 1st isn't Habs fans talking out of their asses. It's objectively realistic.
When trading for an established NHL player, prospects are not given full value based on their future potential. That is why there are often multiple returns.
Thus Pelletier being < Anderson. Montreal may not be willing to take the chance of Pelletier being a career NHL'er and want some "insurance" in the form of an additional player or pick. If he has a 75% chance of becoming an NHL'er, you'd want another piece that is about 25% as valuable.
Again, I don't want to trade Anderson or want to acquire Pelletier. I'm only trying to look at this realistically.
Objectively, perhaps Anderson isn't worth $5.5M but you can't determine that with analytics alone. I'm okay with his contract, but I find general expectations to be rising as to what value you are getting and it's normally leaning towards production. The p/g players on ELC/bridge/team friendly deals locked in before they are fully established, are skewing those expectations as to what you should expect for $5M. The flat cap has further compressed dollars per point, as player salaries would still be rising otherwise and Anderson's contract would look a lot more reasonable in comparison.