Columbus Blue Jackets' forward Josh Anderson was one of two notable restricted free agents who held out through training camp for the right deal. The other was Andreas Athanasiou.
After a lengthy stalemate, the Jackets finally came to terms with the young player, signing him to a 3-year $5.5 million deal on October 2nd.
Head coach John Tortorella, well-known as one to not mince words, had this to say about that whole fiasco.
“He’s going to be one [heck] of a player,” Tortorella said, as reported by Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe. “I just thought he was stupid at the beginning of the year. I thought he was stupid and his entourage was stupid. That guy, and where I think he can go in his career, to miss one minute of camp was a crime. I’m not trying to insult people. It was a crime for a young player to miss a minute of camp. Especially him, where he can be. It still bothers me.”
Obviously, this statement is laced with positive reinforcement - Tortorella sees a very good player in Anderson, but he's clearly still frustrated by something that occurred over a month ago.
Anderson, who was unfit to play the team's first two games, already has 8 points in 11 games this season.