Canadiens: What to Expect From Jake Evans

It might not feel like it, but Montreal Canadiens center Jake Evans is already 28 years old and at the end of this season, he will be an unrestricted free agent. The newly wedded forward was picked 207th overall at the 2014 draft and has since proven he can be quite useful in the NHL.

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Of course, his role is not the one he filled in the NCAA when he was playing for Notre-Dame and putting 40-odd points on the board in his last two seasons. When he arrived in the AHL with the Laval Rocket, he realised that if he wanted to make his mark in the NHL, he would have to accept a backbencher role so to speak, and it worked.

Last Season

For the first time in his five-year NHL career, he managed to stay healthy and play all 82 games last season. He averaged 16 minutes of ice time per game and put up 28 points, one less than his career mark of 29.

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He also put up record marks for hits (86) and face-off win percentage with 52.1%. Chance are, had Kirby Dach been healthy last season, Evans wouldn't have seen anywhere near as much action, but he made the most of his opportunities and as always, saw plenty of ice time on the penalty kill.

What to Expect This Season

Evans is just about to embark on the third year of the three-year at $1.7 M per pact he signed with the organization. At the end of this season, he will be able to test the free agency waters and to be able to do so successfully, he needs to have a good year.

If he'd like to stay in Montreal, he has to make a case for himself still being useful to the team. Young center Owen Beck is scheduled to turn pro this season and while he may need some seasoning in the AHL, he'll be gunning for a roster spot sooner rather than later. Both Sean Farrell and Riley Kidney will also be knocking on the door soon enough.

Evans' most important mission this season will be to remain healthy. Prior to last year, he was no stranger to concussion and it was actually quite scary to watch him play at times, especially after he was hit in a dangerous fashion by Mark Scheifele during the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs.

With Nick Suzuki and Kirby Dach already being slotted as the top-six centers, all signs point to Alex Newhook being used as a winger and Christian Dvorak having the inside lane for the third line pivot spot. It should leave Evans to patrol the ice with the fourth line, but he should still see plenty of ice time on the penalty kill.

Wherever he plays, you can expect Evans to give his all as he has always done, he never needed the added motivation of a contract year to deliver and should he stay healthy, I have no reason to believe there will be a decrease in his performance.

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Patrik Laine's arrival bolstered the top six, but it will also have a trickle down effect, meaning the quality of Evans' wingers should go up as well. Joel Armia, Joshua Roy, Josh Anderson and Brendan Gallagher will all no doubt be vying for the third line spots, but those who lose out won't be getting a bad center in Evans in any case. Rafael Harvey-Pinard is expected to be out of the lineup until the end of November thanks to a broken leg and Michael Pezzetta may very well find himself on the outside looking it, especially if Arber Xhekaj is dressed and ready to answer the call whenever it's time to protect his teammates.

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