Canadiens Trading Evans Would Be Short-Sighted

The Montreal Canadiens wanted to be in the mix this season and while the injury to Patrik Laine and underwhelming performances from Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook and Cayden Primeau have made it almost impossible, there is no denying the Habs are turning a corner.

Of course, the Canadiens' rebuild is not finished, far from it, but recent performances tend to show the team has turned a corner. You can see and feel the balance shifting from focusing on development to learning how to get results.

Kent Hughes trading Justin Barron for Alexandre Carrier was a clear signal of the shift. Instead of carrying on developing the young blueliner, the GM elected to provide some stability and balance to his defense corps bringing a reliable right-shot defenseman in the fold. His arrival meant Kaiden Guhle, Jayden Struble, and Arber Xhekaj won't be forced to play on their off side and they can focus on playing their game.

Related: Canadiens: A Fair Comparable For Jake Evans?

Up front, a similar shift should also happen. With three regular forwards on expiring deals, one could have expected them all to be trade chips come trade deadline, but one of them has made a strong case for being extended instead. 28-year-old Jake Evans is having a career year, with 10 goals in just 36 games, he finds himself three goals short of his most productive season. That season came in 2021-22, when he recorded 29 points. This season, he's already got 23 points and is on pace for 23 goals and 52 points.

Is that sustainable? His 30.3% shooting percentage seems to indicate it isn't, but even without the increased production, the center is a polyvalent player the Habs should be looking to keep. Sure, they have Owen Beck and eventually Michael Hage waiting in the wings to grab a pivot spot, but assuming they'll be able to fill Evans' responsibilities right away might just be a mistake. Their ceiling is higher than the veteran’s and they will overtake him on the depth chart so that must be kept in mind, but it won’t happen overnight.

Like every player, they will likely need an adaptation period to the NHL and the Canadiens' center line is far from being settled. Granted, Nick Suzuki is well on his way to prove he can be a number one center in this league, but Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook have yet to prove they can be just plain centers. Given that uncertainty, Evans' presence brings stability and a possibility to achieve results.

This season, Dach only wins 38% of his faceoffs while Evans' success rate stands at 48% which is a down year compared to the 52% efficiency he showed in the previous two seasons. On the penalty kill, he's proving to be invaluable to the Canadiens. The Sainte-Flanelle is fifth in shorthanded goals this season with four, and Evans has scored three of them. Those three goals give him the second place in the league behind Florida Panthers' Sam Reinhart. Montreal's penalty kill is ninth in the league and Evans spends a significant portion of his time on ice playing a man down.

Related: Canadiens: Depth Scoring Provides Big Win

Of course, you shouldn't break the bank on a player who will remain in the bottom half of your lineup, but who says Hughes will need to? So far, the GM has done well convincing players to sign reasonable deals. His scoring leaders are making less than $8 M a year, making it hard for a supporting player to ask for the moon.

Sure, Evans is 28 and this is his chance to get a big pay day, but he may just like what he sees in Montreal and want to stick around. After all, it was the Canadiens who bet on him in the seventh round of the 2014 draft, 10 years on, he could be ready to bet on them in return.

Unlike former GM Marc Bergevin, I don't believe you need to "get a dog" to get loyalty. However, the sooner negotiations get underway with Evans, the better the odds of signing him to a reasonable contract. With his injury history, he will most probably be looking for stability and term which can be used to keep the cap hit reasonable.

When the Canadiens are officially ready to contend, Evans' best years will probably be behind him, but signing him instead of trading him sends a message to the team, it says we have turned a corner and are entering a new stage in our rebuild, one in which we can keep some assets to achieve results.

Much like when Hughes refused to move Savard at the deadline last year because his value to the Habs was higher in the lineup than in a trade, I can see the GM coming to the same conclusion with Evans.

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