Islanders fans: Don't worry about Josh Anderson rumor

It's rumor season in the NHL. And the latest one going around Twitter is that the New York Islanders and the Montreal Canadiens held a conversation about Josh Anderson. And according to the rumor, the Islanders were willing to move the 13th overall pick at the 2022 draft for Anderson.

Now, this rumor doesn't explicitly say Josh Anderson for the 13th overall. But the implication is that those two pieces are the main parts of a deal. And that probably has you, an Islanders fan, worried.

New York Islanders fans: Don't worry about Josh Anderson rumor

The 2022 13th overall pick is the Islanders biggest trade asset that isn't already on the roster. If the Islanders are going to trade it away you'd hope it would be for more than Anderson, right?

Anderson isn't a bad player but he's not a game-breaker per se. His best year was in 2018-19 when he scored 27 goals and 47 points for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Even if you pace out his incomplete years he doesn't pace out to more than ~40 points.

Those are good numbers. But they're absolutely mediocre. And the Islanders have enough 40-50 point players on the roster. Josh Bailey, Kyle Palmieri, Anthony Beauvillier, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau come to mind. Why add another guy to this list? That's not what the Islanders need to push ahead.

Not to mention that Anderson holds a $5.5 million cap hit for the next five, yes five, seasons. Oh, and the actual salary owed in the next three years averages $7.3 million. For a max, 50-point player?

Nope. That won't happen. Certainly not for the 13th overall pick. I'm sure the Islanders called the Canadiens about Anderson. That's just a team's due diligence as they try to establish where the market is at.

If Lou Lamoriello is going to trade that 13th overall pick it's not going to be for someone of Josh Anderson's quality. It's going to be for more than that.