Montreal Canadiens Mock Trade Deadline: Jake Evans To Oilers, Who Says No?

The Montreal Canadiens are gearing up for the trade deadline which is now just one week away. Things are heating up and a few big deals have already been pulled off around the league.

The Canadiens have already gotten in on the act as they have traded Sean Monahan to the Winnipeg Jets for a first round pick and a conditional third round pick. They won't get that third round pick unless the Jets win the Stanley Cup this season.

Trying to figure out who they will trade next is not an easy task. Monahan was a pending unrestricted free agent and having a strong year so a trade was inevitable. The only other pending free agents don't have a lot of trade value so there isn't an obvious next move to make.

However, there are some trade pieces that make sense. The Canadiens are in a rebuild and need to look ahead a year or two to when they will be competitive again. Who will still be around and part of that success? Many young players will be but there are others who are not likely to factor in when the team becomes good again.

Those players will be on the trade market. One of them is Jake Evans. He is signed for one more season after this one at a modest cap hit of $1.7 million. He is a good defensive player and penalty killer who also has 19 points in 59 games this season.

A team like the Edmonton Oilers would be interested in an upgrade in their bottom six. Evans could slot into a fourth line, perhaps with a player like Corey Perry, to give the Oilers a hardworking fourth line that doesn't give up much defensively while being an upgrade on Sam Gagner or Derek Ryan in the lineup.

Let's say the Edmonton Oilers offer up their third round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft for Evans, who says no?