The Montreal Canadiens made it official Monday morning: Josh Anderson has been named an alternate captain for the 2026-27 season, joining captain Nick Suzuki and returning alternate Mike Matheson in the team’s leadership group. General manager Kent Hughes made it official, filling the letter left open since Brendan Gallagher was traded to Vancouver this summer.

My take: I called this live on the show last night, before it was even confirmed — Anderson was my pick. Watching him through camp, the intangibles were there in a way they weren’t quite as obvious for anyone else in that room. This isn’t a surprise to me. It’s a confirmation.

Why Anderson Makes Sense

This isn’t new territory for him. Anderson already wore the “A” last season whenever Gallagher was scratched, including multiple playoff games during Montreal’s run to the Eastern Conference Final — so in a lot of ways, the organization is just making official what was already true in practice.

The résumé backs it up too. Now entering his seventh season in Montreal, Anderson put up 23 points (14 goals, 9 assists) in 72 games in 2025-26, led the team in shorthanded scoring, finished sixth on the roster in goals, and was fourth in hits with 129 — the identity piece is as real as the leadership piece. In the playoffs, he added 5 goals and 2 assists across 19 games during that Eastern Conference Final push. Since his 2014-15 NHL debut (Columbus took him 95th overall in 2012), he’s played 688 career games and racked up 160 goals, 113 assists and 641 PIM. That’s a lot of miles, and a lot of credibility in that room.

How This Squares With Our Earlier Read

We covered this exact decision in Who Gets the “A”? Montreal’s Next Alternate Captain, and Anderson and Jake Evans were the two names that stood out above the rest of the field. That piece ultimately leaned toward Evans, on the idea that the “A” is about trust more than scoring. Anderson’s case was always the counter-argument sitting right next to it — a below-market fourth-liner making the safe, steady case versus a battle-tested forward who’d already worn the letter in real playoff games. After watching camp play out, my own read shifted toward Anderson, and that’s the call I made on the show last night. The organization agreed hours later.

What I Think Happens Next

Here’s the part I’m putting my name on: Anderson is entering the final year of his contract — seven years, $5.5 million AAV, signed back in October 2020 — and he’s set to hit unrestricted free agency next summer. I don’t think that’s a coincidence with this timing. Naming him an alternate now, in a contract year, tells me the organization already sees him as part of the core beyond 2026-27, not a rental leadership piece on his way out the door.

My prediction: Anderson signs an extension with Montreal during this season, not next summer as a UFA. I’d guess something in the range of three years around $5 million per season — a discount off his current cap hit that reflects his age (he’ll turn 33 in May) balanced against exactly what this announcement just told everyone: this front office values what he brings in that room as much as what he brings on the scoresheet. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong — but I don’t think Kent Hughes hands a 32-year-old rental winger a letter and then lets him walk for nothing next July.

The Bigger Picture

Suzuki, Matheson, Anderson — that’s the leadership trio Montreal is running with into 2026-27, and it tells you something about how this front office thinks about building a room. It’s not just about who scores the most or who’s the flashiest name. It’s about who the other 22 guys in that room actually trust when things get hard. Anderson has earned that the long way, one shift and one hit at a time, over seven seasons. The letter is just catching up to what was already true.