“He is a warrior. He is an animal.”

Dose
Crédit:

“He is a warrior. He is an animal.”

These aren’t my words, but rather those of Martin St-Louis and Cole Caufield.

You will have understood that Caufield and St-Louis are talking about Josh Anderson here.

Anderson retired to the dressing room yesterday in the second period, before coming back to help his team in the third. A seemingly harmless fall gave him all sorts of pain.

On Tuesday, he was unable to finish the game; he left the game after falling heavily into the boards.

Last Sunday, he did not take part in the team’s skill practice at the Centre Bell.

And for weeks, he has been training very infrequently with his teammates.

According to Nick Suzuki, very few players would continue to play with what Anderson is currently going through. The guys know what he’s going through and he’s an inspiration for the team.

Because yes, seeing a veteran like Anderson put on his $1,500 skates has a way of inspiring his teammates. Especially the younger ones, who sometimes tend to play more like they’re in junior hockey than like Anderson, let’s say…

Yesterday, Anderson spent 13 minutes and 20 seconds on the ice, distributing three hits. He also took three shots and blocked an opponent’s shot.

He has only scored a few points in his last 13 games, but his mere presence has a way of helping the team. He’s helping the team in their playoff push while showing the way to the younger players for the future.

Josh Anderson is currently helping the team in his own way, even if the points aren’t coming.
(Credit: Getty Images)

What’s wrong with him?
I’m not a doctor and I won’t pretend to be one for the sake of this article, but when I see Josh Anderson playing for several weeks, I think of two things:

1. He seems to be injured in the back. He often curls up to relieve his pain, and if he were injured in the knee, ankle, groin, or shoulder, his behavior would be different in my opinion. And if it were his ribs, he would have recovered with the four-nation break, right?

2. Is he doing a Carey Price or a Shea Weber, playing as much hockey as possible… knowing that the end is near? #SwanSong?

Anderson will be 31 years old in three months, and it’s often at 30 that a guy like Josh Anderson’s body starts to give out.

He had a difficult season last year, which makes me think that his back (?!) may have been hurting him for a while now.

Unfortunately, it’s often difficult – if not impossible – to recover from a back injury. And for a player who plays like Anderson, it’s even more problematic.

Josh Anderson still has two years left on his contract (with a $5.5 million cap hit). Will he be able to play them? Will he join Carey Price on the LTIR?

Yes, I know, we’re not there yet… but we can still look to the future and ask questions, can’t we?

One thing is certain, he won’t be traded in the next few days…