Shocking Statistics Emerge and Josh Anderson Absolutely Needs to Go

Consistency, which has greatly eluded him since his NHL debut, seems to be missing entirely, making the powerful winger unrecognizable. At a point where he should be peaking in offensive production, he's lagging behind as one of the worst scorers on the team, alongside fourth-line players.

His contribution is utterly lacking, even though he has played almost all his games on the team's top two lines, averages nearly 17 minutes per game, and is a regular on the first power-play unit.

Unfortunately, apart from his dismal personal stats, there's something very worrying in Anderson's play revealed by advanced stats.

He is truly a nuisance on the ice for his teammates.

Here's the proof:

Essentially, everyone performs almost twice as well in terms of scoring chances at even strength when they're not on a line with Anderson.

The result is clear and unequivocal.

It's even more concerning considering he's the fourth highest-paid forward on the team at $5.5 million and is signed for four more seasons.

Moreover, his performance is unlikely to improve as he will turn 30 by the end of the year.

Another telling statistic about the problems of CH's number 17 further highlights his abysmal involvement. He ranks as the 11th worst forward on the team for completed passes to the slot, which significantly contributes to scoring chances.

He only outperforms Kirby Dach, who has played just two games this season, Michael Pezzetta, and Joel Armia, who are fourth-line forwards and not regulars in the lineup, and Christian Dvorak, who just played his first game of the season last Saturday. Yikes!

It's a catastrophic and frankly alarming start to the season for Josh Anderson.