Why The Red Wings Could Turn To Josh Anderson For More Scoring Depth

Detroit carries nearly $19.5 million in cap space heading into 2026-27, and a new trade pitch now circulating connects the Red Wings to Montreal Canadiens winger Josh Anderson. The proposed deal, built using PuckGM's trade tools, would send Justin Faulk and Michael Rasmussen to Montreal in exchange for Anderson and three draft picks. On paper, the cap math works out to a net-zero move for both sides, but the real question is whether this deal actually solves Detroit's problems.

Is Josh Anderson the right fit for Detroit's scoring problem?

Detroit's front office need is not another ageing defenseman. It is forward depth with genuine offensive punch. Anderson, 30, posted 14 goals in 72 regular season games last year and chipped in five more during Montreal's run to the Eastern Conference Final. He was named alternate captain over the summer, which signals the Canadiens still value him despite holding only one more year on his $5.5 million cap hit.

The proposed deal would send Justin Faulk and Michael Rasmussen to Montreal in exchange for Anderson and three draft picks. Detroit retains $3.3 million of Faulk's cap hit and $950,000 of Rasmussen's, while absorbing Anderson's full $5.5 million. That keeps both sides cap-neutral. Faulk, 34, hits unrestricted free agency next July anyway, so moving him is logical housekeeping. Rasmussen's offence has been sliding, dropping from a career-best 33 points in 2023-24 to just 14 last season, making him expendable too.

The question worth asking is whether Anderson actually upgrades Detroit's bottom six in any meaningful way, or whether he simply replaces one body with another. He brings size, speed, and proven playoff production. He scored in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final and again last spring. That experience matters in a locker room trying to grow. Still, 14 regular-season goals is not a number that reshapes a lineup. Detroit needs that kind of production to be the floor, not the ceiling.

Who actually wins this trade between the Red Wings and Canadiens?

Montreal already carries a deep, expensive blue line with Noah Dobson, Lane Hutson, Kaiden Guhle, and Mike Matheson all signed long-term, plus prospect David Reinbacher waiting in the wings. Faulk gives them a short-term veteran on the right side and power play, not a long-term fit. Rasmussen offers a big body for bottom-six and penalty-kill minutes at a discounted rate over two seasons.

What Montreal parts with is more significant. Anderson brings playoff pedigree that took years to build. The Canadiens also send two second-round picks while sitting at just $2.8 million in cap space. That is a steep price for a team already tight against the ceiling.

Detroit gets the better side of this. Two second-round picks in back-to-back drafts hold more long-term value than one more year of a 34-year-old defenseman and two more seasons of a centre whose production continues to slip. The Red Wings end up with future assets for players they could plausibly replace through internal options or free agency. This is not a trade that transforms Detroit, but it does clean up the roster efficiently while adding a proven playoff performer up front.