Lias Andersson could stay in Sweden awhile

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Lias Andersson is back home in Sweden and taking in his younger brother Noah’s games in the SHL. The disgruntled 21 year old Rangers first rounder broke his social media silence by posting pics of his brother on Instagram and commenting how proud he is. Speculation coming out of Sweden is that his Swedish stay may be for awhile.

SHL Return?

The former Frolunda player’s NHL future is uncertain after demanding a trade and then getting suspended for leaving the Wolf Pack. Jeff Gorton tried to trade him to Edmonton for their unhappy forward Jesse Puljujarvi but the Oilers didn’t think it was a fair deal. Things got even harder for Gorton now that Andersson isn’t playing and doing anything to build his value.

While there is no official word coming from either side, Andersson is going to have to start skating on his own at least to be ready for a trade. It’s also possible that some discussions between them could lead to Andersson playing in the SHL again. Whichever team that is, they know that he could be gone at any time so it’s a risk. Still from a marketing perspective Lias playing with Noah in Farjestad makes some sense.

At the end of the day Jeff Gorton isn’t going to give Andersson away. Regardless of what has gone on, the Rangers weren’t just spewing lip service when they said they still believe in him. If adding him in the right deal at the deadline makes sense they will do it, but it might make more sense to deal him at the draft. That only gets easier if he plays and the SHL is the best possibility for this season.

By Anthony Scultore

Anthony Scultore has been covering the New York Rangers and the NHL since 2014. His work also appears at... More about Anthony Scultore

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