The Montreal Canadiens are leaning toward being hybrid sellers, with Jake Evans drawing major trade interest (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
Despite being just five points out of a wild card spot with 25 games to go, all signs still point to the Montreal Canadiens being at least hybrid sellers heading into the March 7 NHL Trade Deadline.
“I can confirm that they’re listening on a lot of players,” an NHL executive source told RG recently. “Whether that’s full-out sell mode is to be determined. I still think Kent [Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes] and Jeff [Canadiens executive vice President Jeff Gorton] would love to acquire roster players or players on the verge of making the roster as opposed to picks, but that all depends on what Habs player we’re talking about.”
One Canadiens player who has been and continues to draw plenty of NHL trade interest is forward Jake Evans. The 28-year-old center is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, and multiple outlets have reported that talks between the Canadiens and Evans and his agent, Brian MacDonald, have stopped.
“Oh, he’s out there, and I’m hearing multiple teams,” the same source told RG.
“He’s the perfect guy for a team that thinks they can make a run and needs that dependable bottom-six and PK guy. I think he will be moved for sure.”
As for what teams are honing in on Evans, here’s what RG has heard and gathered from a combination of NHL executives, scouts, and agents over the last week with the current cap space for each interested team:
- Los Angeles Kings ($3.4M)
- Seattle Kraken ($4.2M)
- Chicago Blackhawks ($18.2M)
- New Jersey Devils ($1.2M)
- New York Islanders ($2.7M)
- Tampa Bay Lightning ($3.9M)
- Minnesota Wild ($8.2M)
- Nashville Predators ($23.5M)
Evans is in the final year of a three-year $5.1M ($1.7M AAV) contract. He has 11 goals and 16 assists in 57 games this season. Numerous reports have had Evans seeking a five-year contract. According to TVA Canadiens and NHL insider Renaud Lavoie, the 2014 seventh-round (207 overall) draft pick wants more than $3.5 million per season due to the rising salary cap.
On more than one occasion over the past month, another NHL source has indicated to RG that term was not an issue, but rather, the cap hit has been the issue between the Canadiens and the Evans camp.
This same source thinks that if the Canadiens don’t sign Evans before next Monday, then the potential UFA will be dealt on the NHL trade market.
“If — and I don’t think he will be — he’s not signed by the Habs by the end of this weekend, he’s a goner,” the source told RG.
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Marco D'Amico
