The Montreal Canadiens and winger Josh Anderson have agreed on a seven-year, $38.5-million contract extension, the team announced Thursday.
Anderson, a restricted free agent, was acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets for Max Domi and a third-round pick on Tuesday. Domi, who was also a pending restricted free agent, signed a two-year contract with Columbus Wednesday.
The 26-year-old was limited to only 26 games last season due to a shoulder injury and didn’t appear in the playoffs for the Blue Jackets. A big, powerful winger, his best season came in 2017-18 when he scored 27 goals and 47 points.
“It was very frustrating,” Anderson said of his injuries in a conference call Wednesday. “It was a down year, and you never go into any year thinking that you’re going to get injured or things like that can happen. Obviously, in my contract year, it did. It started with Game 1, getting injured and me coming back early, which I said to myself I would never do again. And I got hurt again later on in the year and just decided that it was the best decision for myself to repair my labrum and make sure that I come back 100 per cent and have a long career.”
The Canadiens have had a busy off-season so far as general manager Marc Bergevin looks to add to a team that shocked the Pittsburgh Penguins in the playoff qualifying round this summer. Besides adding Anderson, the club has also acquired defenceman Joel Edmundson from the Hurricanes and goaltender Jake Allen from the Blues.
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