Montreal Canadiens: 7 Habs Headlines From Past 7 Days
6. Jake Evans
I am a big believer in meritocracy within hockey. When a player outworks and outperforms someone slotted above him in the depth chart, and something needs to be shaken up, that player should be given a chance higher up in the lineup. This is the exact sitution with Jake Evans at the moment, with Phillip Danault being the player that has been outworked.
Phillip Danault is in a contract year. He rejected a 6-year, 30-million dollar contract (AAV of $5 million) back in September and apparently didn’t even submit a counteroffer. I’m guessing he’d accept that contract if it were offered at the moment, though I doubt Marc Bergevin would still offer that amount of capital. Danault has been utterly flat-footed this season. He has fluffed every single scoring chance he’s had. His work rate has taken a hit and his defensive prowess seems to have dissipated as well.
While we are only at game 14 of the season and this is in all likelyhood just a slump, he has shown the Canadiens that he is not indispensible to this team. He played poorly throughout the first 10 games when the Habs went 7-1-2. I don’t even believe Danault needs to produce offensively to be of great value, though that certainly would be a nice bonus. His game is defence. He has been utterly elite defensively for two seasons and would be the perfect luxury 3rd line centre on a contender. The issue is that he has been somewhere between average and good in his own zone while struggling mightily in transition to start the season.
Enter Jake Evans. The fourth line rookie centre has been playing a speedy, high-pressure game while flanked by Paul Byron and Artturi Lehkonen thus far this season. He has consistently been among the Canadiens’ hardest-working and most intelligent forwards. He has scored twice and added no assists, but, just like with Danault, producing points is not his game. He plays a fairly similar style to Danault but with more speed and less agility.
He should, thus, be a fairly seemless fit between Tatar and Gallagher if he were to be bumped up the depth chart. He also wins faceoffs, being the only centre other than Danault with a win-rate over 50%, though he barely clears that bar. Evans would add some intensity and forechecking ability to a line that has struggled to regain its dominance of the past two years.
Something needs to be shaken up, and Evans is deserving of more minutes. He was one of the few players that was consistently making good things happen in the defeat against Edmonton; and he should be rewarded for his play. This would undoubtedly be a temporary change. Danault will find his footing (just how close he will come to last season’s level is anyone’s guess) and will force his way back up the depth chart, but a wake-up call is in order, especially in the midst of a string of poor team performances.
Making this swap will also give the coaching and management staff a better idea of what a top-9 without Danault would play like; if three centres under the age of 25 are too inexperienced to carry a contending team or whether the stabilizing veteran presence of Danault or another such player is necessary. If it is, then Danault will need to be re-signed or, if the Canadiens decide to part ways with the Quebecois, a different veteran centre will need to be acquired.
If the three young centre perform, however, maybe the Canadiens become more willing to move on from Danault (through trade perhaps?). Either way, Danault’s play and contract situation will certainly be a storyline to follow throughout this season, and Jake Evans’ steady, high-octane play will continue to entertain fans and annoy opposition, be it on the fourth line or the second.