The Montreal Canadiens are in the thick of the playoff race as the NHL nears its return from the 4 Nations break. The Canadiens are within six points of the Detroit Red Wings for the final Wild Card spot in the East. This will create some tough decisions for Montreal over the next few weeks. One decision the Canadiens must make is whether Jake Evans will be with the team past the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline.
Evans has spent his entire six-year career in the French Canadian hockey hotbed to this point. And over the last few seasons, he has become one of the Canadiens’ more important depth forwards. He has scored 25+ points in three of the last four seasons. In 2024-25, he appears likely to smash his career-high offensive totals.
Evans is certainly an intriguing player. His offense has popped off in 2024-25, as he is shooting at a nearly 20% clip to this point. Moreover, he is very good in the faceoff circle. He has a career faceoff percentage of 51.5% and has won at least 52% of his draws in each of the last three seasons. Evans is also valuable on the penalty kill.
It’s easy to see why the Canadiens are pursuing a contract extension with the former seventh-round pick. However, the Canadiens have a decision to make before the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline. And Montreal would be wise to put the 28-year-old on the trade market before March 7th.
Jake Evans cannot sustain shooting percentage
Evans is certainly not unique in his offensive outburst this season. This is not to discredit the work he is putting in on the ice. It is to say that we have seen seasons like this before. A depth player who has produced well in the past suddenly pops off thanks to a sky-high shooting percentage.
One thing rang true for those campaigns, and it rings true here. Evans cannot sustain his current shooting clip. The Canadiens forward has a shooting percentage of 19.6% at this point in the season. This is well above his full-season career high of 10.5% and his career shooting clip of 9.9%.
Evans can certainly chip in offensively at the NHL level. None of this is to say that he will become a liability offensively or anything. However, it is clear that he is due for regression at some point. Montreal should trade him while they can before that regression sets in.
Canadiens can replace Jake Evans
Evans is a fantastic player and he is due for a raise once he hits the open market this summer in NHL Free Agency. However, he is not a cornerstone piece to the Canadiens’ rebuild. He is nearing the age of 30, and while he brings value, he doesn’t do anything that makes him untouchable to Montreal.
More than this, the sort of player Evans is isn’t the most difficult to replace. He is a solid point producer who can kill penalties and win faceoffs. He is also willing to throw the body and dish out a crunching check to spark his team.
There are more of these players in the NHL than there are superstars. In fact, you can find these sorts of players in the NHL Draft in almost every round. The Canadiens are familiar with Evans, and they certainly like him. However, his role can be filled by another player.
The Canadiens have a chance to get a really good return here. Evans plays a game that contending teams love to have come time for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. For a team like Montreal, though, his style of play is not needed enough at this time to warrant passing on making a deal at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline.
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