Throwaway seasons are exactly what they sound like. And for the Canadiens, if it means better play later this year and, ideally, consistent wins next season, then another forgettable campaign in 2024-25 is well worth it.
Or, at least, that’s the way I see it. For those players who haven’t performed up to par yet, there is, or at least should be, less pressure to make a 180-degree turnaround in such a short time. But for others, well, they’ve been exceeding expectations.
One of those players is Cole Caufield, whose ridiculous 17 goals so far in 2024-25 have been one of the bigger surprises in the league. Yeah, I’m saying ‘surprise’ because, in October, I would have had Caufield down for something between 25 and 30 goals. A significant number, but nowhere near the 48 he’s currently projected to hit if he keeps up this current pace.
But Caufield isn’t the player I’m talking about, even if giving him an uptick or two in ice time wouldn’t be a bad idea. Instead, I’ve been impressed with Jake Evans’ numbers, even if he’s been logging no more than 15:48 per game, on average.
Canadiens would do well to boost Jake Evans’ ice time
So far this season, Evans has five goals and 10 assists, good for a 20.8 shooting percentage and 15 points. No, that’s not the most impressive look through 29 games, but Evans is fourth on the team overall in points. And he’s been a force this season with 43 hits and 20 blocks.
He’s got three points in the last five games, but no significant uptick in average total ice time. And yeah, I get it, Evans is one of the ‘older’ players on the Habs, being in his age-28 season. I know, that’s a strange quip, but with the Canadiens being one of the league’s younger teams, 28 is a little older.
Anyway, Evans is clearly on his way to enjoying the best outing of his career, which occurred in 2021-22 when he put up 29 points and 13 goals. He also stole the puck 39 times and landed 88 body checks. But all of those numbers, sans the takeaways, look like they’re heading north of his previous career bests.
Overall, Evans has proven he could be an older, albeit long-term, solution on this Montreal Canadiens team. And he more than deserves to play at least 16 minutes per game, if not more, so he can further drive home his overall value. The Habs should be looking for winners as they navigate through rough times, and Evans looks like one of them.