Official departure to Europe for a Canadiens forward? Former first-round pick Lias Andersson could very well be headed to Sweden

This summer, Kent Hughes announced the signing of Lias Andersson to a two-way NHL/AHL contract. It was initially thought that Jeff Gorton was behind this signing, as he had drafted Andersson with the 7th overall pick in 2017 while with the Rangers.

However, that turned out not to be the case. Hughes decided to sign Andersson himself, without Gorton's influence in the decision. Nonetheless, the Swedish forward did not play any games in the NHL this season, and it's unlikely to happen in the future.

To be honest, the chances of him returning to the NHL someday are rather slim. If he couldn't earn a call-up from the Canadiens, who have a rather ordinary attack outside of the first line, it's hard to see how he could crack another team's lineup.

His future may thus be limited to the AHL in North America, but according to several sources, Andersson could be headed to the SHL.



Admittedly, the arena does seem quite intriguing, but beyond that, Andersson could return to play at home with a decent salary.