Any update on the Jake Evans contract talks, or has the last two weeks put him back on the trade block? Is a first-round pick still a reasonable ask?
Paul O on X — @nanerc_paul
Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes refuses to discuss contract talks with the media, but Jeff Gorton — the executive vice-president of hockey operations — was asked about talks with Evans when he was a guest a couple of weeks ago on The Sick Podcast — The Eye Test with Pierre McGuire and Jimmy Murphy.
“Obviously, we think a lot of Jake,” Gorton said. “We’re going to talk to Jake and Jake’s people and keep it quiet and hopefully there’s a match there that he can fit with us going forward. You can see he’s playing really well.”
I’d be surprised if the Canadiens aren’t able to re-sign Evans, who is in the final season of his contract with a salary-cap hit of US$1.7 million. He can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Evans’s offensive production has dropped off with only one goal and three assists in the last 18 games. But his 11 goals are two short of the career-high 13 he scored in 2021-22 and his 27 points are two short of the career high he set in 2021-22. He’s also a big reason why the Canadiens rank ninth in the NHL in penalty-killing with an 82 per cent success rate. Evans leads all NHL forwards in short-handed ice time with 162:08 — an average of 3:00 per game. His partner Joel Armia ranks second in PK ice time with 145:09. Evans is also winning 52 per cent of his faceoffs.
If the Canadiens can’t agree on a new contract with Evans, a first-round pick in exchange for him ahead of the March 7 trade deadline is a possibility with a second-round pick the minimum. Hughes was able to get a first-round pick and a fourth-round pick from the Florida Panthers when he traded defenceman Ben Chiarot ahead of the 2022 trade deadline. Chiarot was 30 at the time, while Evans is 28.
First off, I like Martin St. Louis. He’s got a wealth of hockey knowledge and experience. However, I’m convinced we need a coach with a wealth of NHL experience given we expected much more progress this season. Next year is a must for at least a final wild-card playoff spot. I’d like to see Gerard Gallant!
Pino Pasqua
I was surprised the Canadiens didn’t hire an assistant coach with plenty of NHL experience to replace Alex Burrows after he stepped down last summer. I believe St. Louis will become a very good head coach, but I think he could use some more experienced help behind the bench as this rebuild moves forward. I asked Hughes about that during his mid-season news conference and he didn’t rule out the possibility of adding an assistant coach with NHL experience next season.
“Marty wanted to handle the power play, which was a principle responsibility that Alex had undertaken and that he wanted to wait and see,” Hughes said about the decision not to replace Burrows. “He wanted to have a better feel for what he needed and we were prepared to support him in that role.
“Going forward, I don’t know what we do going into next season, whether it’s the status quo or he comes back and says: ‘Hey, I need this or I want that,’” Hughes added. “I’d like again to kind of be adaptable.”
St. Louis has a 100-124-31 record since becoming head coach of the Canadiens for a .453 winning percentage. The Canadiens have a 25-24-5 record this season, which is only three points ahead of their pace last season when they had a 22-24-8 record after 54 games and ended up finishing 28th in the overall NHL standings.
Gorton was also asked about St. Louis’s lack of coaching experience when he was on The Sick Podcast — The Eye Test.
“The one thing that always impressed Kent and I about Marty is that he’s willing to get better,” Gorton said. “He sort of appeals to his team like: ‘I’m like you. We’re all getting better together and I have a lot to learn, you’ve got a lot to learn, let’s do it together,’ and I think he’s good at that. I think the biggest thing, the hardest thing to learn, is behind the bench. Behind the bench, in-game adjustments I think is hard and you can’t just show up and have it. You got to learn it, you got to go through it, you got to see like: All right, what’s Jon Cooper (head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning) going to do to me tonight? What’s he thinking?
“There’s a lot going on there and these guys are pretty smart people,” Gorton added. “What’s Mike Sullivan (head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins) doing? So I think he’s learning the league and the coaches and what they’re trying to do and I think he’s doing really well with it. He’s a very bright guy and I do love the fact about him that he’s never afraid to admit: ‘I don’t know the answer, but I’m going to go out and get it.’ And he talks to a lot of people who have had success. I would say behind the bench is probably the biggest thing. We see the evolution, especially a lot lately, I think.”
My question is: Why do they do this to me?
shpekel on X — @FilthyFilth01
LOL. This has indeed been a roller-coaster ride of a season for Canadiens fans.
After going 11-16-3 in the first 30 games, the Canadiens went 13-3-1 in the next 17 games before going 1-5-1 in their last seven games. Heading into the weekend they were six points out of a wild-card playoff spot with four teams ahead of them in addition to the Detroit Red Wings, who were holding the final wild-card spot.
Before the season started I didn’t think the Canadiens were good enough to make the playoffs — even if Patrik Laine had been healthy to start the year. Goaltending and a young defence were my two biggest concerns. Also, the Canadiens don’t have the depth yet to survive injuries to key players like Kaiden Guhle and Emil Heineman and it has shown during this recent slump.
But there’s plenty of hope for the future.
Forward Ivan Demidov is expected to join the Canadiens next season. The 19-year-old has 19-25-44 totals in 52 games this season with SKA St. Petersburg to set a KHL record for most points by a player under age 20. Centre Michael Hage has 12-16-28 totals in 25 games as a freshman at the University of Michigan. Goalie Jacob Fowler has an 18-3-1 record as a sophomore at Boston College to go along with a 1.65 goals-against average, a .938 save percentage and six shutouts.
Forward Owen Beck has 11-16-27 totals in 41 games as an AHL rookie with the Laval Rocket and hasn’t looked out of place in his four games with the Canadiens. Defenceman Logan Mailloux, who had 9-13-22 totals in 36 games with Laval, scored a goal for the Canadiens in Wednesday’s 6-3 loss to the Kings in Los Angeles after getting called up from the Rocket. Defenceman David Reinbacher is ahead of schedule in his recovery from pre-season knee surgery and is now practising with the Canadiens and looks like he will soon be ready to play some games with the Rocket.
You have to remember this is only Year 3 of the rebuilding project.
In your opinion how can the Minnesota Wild (the most boring team in the league) dominate the Habs by holding us to 21 shots to win 4-0 and then get smoked 6-0 by the Ottawa Senators their next game. The Wild looked like Stanley Cup contenders against us and then Cup pretenders vs. Ottawa. What gives?
Randall from T.M.R.
It’s called parity in a salary-capped NHL where any team can beat any other team on any given night. It’s a big reason why those gambling websites the NHL and the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews heavily promote make so much money from fans.
The schedule also comes into play. The Wild’s game in Ottawa was their fourth in a five-game road trip and fatigue might have been a factor. The Senators are also on a pretty good roll with a 10-4-1 record in their last 15 games, including the win over the Wild.
As for the Wild being the “most boring team in the league” they are able to find ways to win under head coach John Hynes — especially on the road. They have a 32-19-4 record despite being only plus-1 in goal differential and are 20-7-3 on the road.
The Wild have also kept winning since losing their best and most exciting player, Kirill Kaprizov, who had 23-29-52 totals in 37 games before suffering a lower-body injury that required surgery. Kaprizov hasn’t played since Jan. 26 — he wasn’t in the lineup against the Canadiens or the Senators — and the Wild have a 3-2-0 record in their first five games without him.
Do you buy into the notion that Montreal needs to be buyers at the trade deadline? And if you were GM, what would be your strategy be to improve this team immediately and for the long-term?
Ed Helinski, Auburn, N.Y.
If the Canadiens keep falling behind in the wild-card playoff race I believe they will be sellers at the trade deadline.
As noted above, I think they’d like to keep Evans, but Armia, David Savard and Christian Dvorak can also become unrestricted free agents on July 1 and I’d expect Hughes will move all three of them before the trade deadline if the Canadiens are out of the playoff race.
Hughes noted during his mid-season news conference that the Canadiens are past the point in their rebuild where they’re looking only for draft picks in trades since they already have the prospects noted above and also hold two first-round picks and two second-round picks this year. I believe Hughes will be looking for players like Alexandre Carrier — acquired from Nashville on Dec. 18 in exchange for Justin Barron — who can help the Canadiens sooner rather than later.
I am wondering about ice conditions at the various arenas around the league and how it might contribute to some of the serious injuries the Canadiens have suffered over the last few years. I believe all of the significant injuries the Habs have had recently have happened on Bell Centre ice (Kaiden Guhle, Kirby Dach, Patrik Laine and David Reinbacher). I know Edmonton’s arena was always widely considered the best ice in the league and their “ice man” was consulted often for ice issues around the league. Are ice issues a thing of the past for the NHL and not really a concern these days? Or is it more of a matter of wanting to keep any issues behind closed doors and out of the public spotlight? Where does the Bell Centre rank as far as quality of ice around the league? Do you think poor quality of the ice has contributed to the injuries Habs players have suffered recently? Thank you for your time. I very much look forward to the weekly mailbag!
Ryan (longtime Habs Fan in New Brunswick)
You are correct that all the injuries you mentioned happened on Bell Centre ice. But the ice can’t really be blamed for any of the injuries.
In the annual NHLPA Player Poll last season the Bell Centre came in first for the sixth straight year as having the best ice in the NHL, getting 34 per cent of the votes. Rogers Place in Edmonton came in second at 15 per cent.
The quality of ice in arenas will always be a concern for the NHL and players and it’s something the league watches closely to maintain a high standard in all rinks.
If you have a question you’d like to ask for our weekly Habs Mailbag, you can email it to [email protected]