Training camps start today and notably absent from Blue Jackets camp is Josh Anderson. The restricted free agent does not yet have a new deal, and as reported by Aaron Portzline, he will not be reporting to camp without one.
Josh Anderson won't be in Blue Jackets camp without contract, agent says by @Aportzline https://t.co/HU6UR3ohOv #CBJ #NHL
— The Athletic (@TheAthleticCLE) September 11, 2017
Many people have said this already but this is not a holdout. This is a player not wanting to work for free and I think that is something we can all understand. It’s not like Anderson is at home sitting on the couch, he's training and he even has plans to fly to Switzerland and skate with a pro team should this continue to drag out.
This is not a situation like the Ryan Johansen one a couple years ago. There does not appear to be the bad blood between the two sides that we saw with Johansen. Johansen and the Blue Jackets went back and forth in the media calling each other out. We have seen none of that this time around. Part of that might be that Anderson is not the same calibre of player so we are not talking about the big dollars and term.
Anderson‘s deal should be pretty simple to work out. Take a look at some of the comparable contracts to the just signed Connor Brown deal; this is the range Anderson should be in.
Most comparable contracts to #Leafs Brown at 3yr x $2.1M:
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) August 27, 2017
Faksa
M. Karlsson
Kassianhttps://t.co/fwgLGHiwL0 pic.twitter.com/Ahg0wHc63w
Anderson isn’t quite Brown. Brown has more pedigree and had a better season in the NHL. Anderson should be getting slightly below Brown in the $1.5M-1.8M range on a two or three year deal. If his ask is anything more than that, the Jackets have no incentive to give in. Anderson is a restricted free agent so his rights are limited; unless a team offer sheets him he is stuck negotiating with the Blue Jackets.
Anderson is clearly a valuable piece to the Jackets; they gave up hefty price to Vegas to ensure he (among others) was not selected in the expansion draft. However, he is not irreplaceable. He’s a middle six winger and the Jackets have plenty of those in the system. Should this continue to drag out the Jackets should have no problem filling Anderson’s spot.
At media day on Wednesday John Tortorella alluded to this, though without naming any names. Quote from 1st Ohio Battery.
"We talk about a young player that is not in camp...he may lose his job. And that's the way it works. That's healthy,"
Tortorella is right here if someone is not at camp their job should be in jeopardy. The Jackets have young players like Tyler Motte, Sonny Milano and Vitali Abramov who can fill Anderson’s roll and do it very cheaply. Anderson had a fine season last year, but as I wrote in June with regards to the expansion draft, losing him isn’t the end of the world. Anderson’s season stats were inflated by some favourable percentages.
Anderson’s camp should realize the situation they are in and should understand that sitting out does them very little. They do not have the leverage and while that doesn’t mean he should play for peanuts, it’s pretty clear what range his deal should be in. If this deal doesn’t get done soon, Anderson very well might lose his spot on the third line.
You can follow me on Twitter @PaulBerthelot