You’ve got to give Jake Evans some love

When we talk about Jake Evans, we don’t think of the eighth wonder of the world.

We think of a support player who is capable of producing offensively when needed and who is capable of being used in all sorts of ways.

But maybe it’s time to give him a little more love.

It’s not rocket science: when you look at the numbers, Jake Evans has established himself as one of the NHL’s excellent support players.

He’s won (just over) half of his face-offs over the past two years, he led the league in shorthanded minutes played last season, and he’s got qualities that come in handy in Martin St-Louis’ line-up.

And when you consider that he’s only paid an average of $1.7 million per season, it puts even more emphasis on his importance to Montreal.

Jake Evans led all NHL forwards in penalty kill mins last year, with a 52.2% faceoff win percentage.

He’s a damn good 4th line center: smart, versatile, defensively responsible & an excellent skater. https://t.co/khHPNVGn00

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) July 22, 2024

There are two reasons why Jake Evans was the NHL’s most-used PK last season.

The Habs were too often undisciplined in 24-25… But above all, Evans was used so much because Martin St-Louis trusts him.

The Habs coach knows that he won’t get into trouble by putting Evans on the ice, and that too says a lot about the importance he has in the Montreal line-up.

That said, Evans excels defensively and can be effective offensively, as he has 28 points in 82 games.

That’s a lot of production for a player like him.

All this to say that, without making too much noise, Jake Evans fulfills his role wonderfully… And that he deserves attention, because he’s had to work hard to get where he is today.

In fact, we’re talking about a guy drafted in the 7th round.

He spent four full seasons in the NCAA before joining the Rocket to continue his development… And now we’re talking about a player who has great value in the Canadiens line-up.

It’s also proof that the draft isn’t an exact science.

Jake Evans was the 207th pick (out of 210) in the 2014 draft, after all…

Overtime

– There’s great chemistry in Edmonton.

Corey Perry on why so many guys wanted to return to Oilers:

“It starts right at the top with Connor & Leon & the way they embrace the city & the fans embrace them. & to build on what we accomplished. It’s not the ultimate goal, but we can be pretty proud“https://t.co/IJ8T5xduG7

– Mark Masters (@markhmasters) July 22, 2024

– Coming up.

The Lions are holding a press conference tomorrow regarding “next year’s roster”. It will be Alex Cousineau (VP and AGM) presenting.

Guesses:
– Captain Cédric Montminy re-signed
– Secondary affiliation with Ottawa
– Fancy new free agent signing
– Corporate partnership/patch

– Andrew Zadarnowski (@AZadarski) July 22, 2024

– Will you be following the competitions?

Éric Hoziel explains why it’s important to follow the Olympic Games, which begin in just a few days pic.twitter.com/SuRuezwQTI