Writers Weigh In: Evaluating The Evans Extension

Montreal took its best trade chip off the block earlier this week when they signed Jake Evans to a four-year, $11.4 million extension.  Was this the right move to make?  Our writers offer up their thoughts.

Terry Costaris: This is such a great signing! Wow!

Evans did Montreal a huge favour by signing for significantly less than what he would most definitely have gotten in the free agent market.

This deal is cap-friendly and will be even better when the cap rises. The low cost involved here will prevent Habs fans from turning on him if his skills diminish. Who is going to focus their hate on a player earning such a cap manageable amount of money? An amount that can be easily halved in a trade if needs be. Their hate will focus on the bigger fish.

As for Evans, both he and his family are set for life. He will earn $11.4M USD plus whatever he’s amassed to date. Given the current economic situation here in Canada, and the likely downturn over the next four years that economists are predicting, this amount of money will probably increase in value against our dollar.

Now if Evans puts his earnings into conservative yielding investments, and given his young age, this $11.4M plus will be dramatically larger thanks to the power of compounding interest. Basically, this young man and his kin are as set for life as anyone can be.

So, this is a huge win-win for both parties.

Allan Katz: What a shocking sacrifice! Evans gave up hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to stay with a team, a city, a coaching staff, and management that treats him with respect. As a teacher for emotionally disturbed children (a fair comparison to 4th line center penalty killer), I made almost $30 an hour. I marched into the principal’s office and asked for $4 million a year and was laughed out of the room. I should have pulled a Jake Evans and said I’d do it for $2.85 million. Still kicking myself.

Obviously, this is good news for the team in any way you look at it. The young man will have to live with the millions he just signed with and the Habs are stuck for four years with an ever-improving quiet leader of the team. So, while I toil in Los Angeles as an actor/writer, I, and I suspect the Montreal fans, will fall in love even more with the kid who said, “This is my team of choice and that’s it!”

Brian La Rose: I think this was a case of good fortune for Montreal.  It sounds as if they stayed very close to their ‘take it or leave it’ offer and while usually those result in a trade, this time, the player decided to leave money on the table to stay.  It’s good news for the Habs who get to keep Evans at an amount that is below market value and even if his offensive output drops a bit as expected, the contract should hold up relatively well.

When it comes to foregoing the potential return in a trade, I’m not convinced his market value was super high.  Yes, centres are carrying high value but the ones who have been fetching first-round picks have been better offensively and Evans isn’t in that range.  I thought a second-rounder and a small something else was more likely and with Montreal looking to emerge from its rebuild soon, the value of the contract is better than the foregone value in a trade.

Kevin Leveille: As an admitted member of team “Trade him while his stock is high”, the extension was met by this writer with a little bit of mixed emotions. This was the one player that could have potentially fetched a first-rounder and opened the trade doors in June. However, there is no denying the value of the contract and everything it represents for the Habs. Evans comes in considerably under his monetary value on the open market to stay in Montreal. For a team that isn’t seen as a “destination”, having a player commit in that way is great to see.

It is also telling on the feeling of the players regarding what is being built in Montreal that Evans sees himself taking a discount “to win.” Considering the uncertainty that is sure to be the 3C position next year as both Owen Beck and Oliver Kapanen are likely to see time there, locking in the 4C could allow the Habs to go hunting this summer to fill the 2C slot with cost certainty everywhere else up and down the middle of the depth chart.

In conclusion, the extension is rather fantastic if looked upon objectively, but I can’t help but wonder what could have been if the other path was chosen. Who knows, maybe the imaginary trades that never were would have been far more disappointing than keeping an excellent player like Evans around for another four seasons.

Peter Longo: Evans’ signing was a necessity for Hughes and for the team. With only Nick Suzuki as the other competent centre, the Habs GM has done nothing to address the obvious problem in the quality of centres, leaving him no choice but to re-sign Evans. Evans certainly would have received a similar if not better offer as a free agent, so the term and the dollar amounts are very reasonable, perhaps even a little on the team-friendly side of things. Overall, a good signing and gives this fan hopes that Hughes will take more steps in the coming months to address this team need.

Norm Szcyrek: Jake certainly ramped up his game this season at the right time to help drive up his value going into free agency this summer.  Fortunately, he was willing to accept an extension with a reasonable raise but not one that is ridiculous compared to other fourth-line veteran centres in the NHL.  If I were the GM, I may have pushed harder for three seasons instead of four, but maybe that was the compromise in the negotiations between Evans’ agent and Hughes.  Evans has been a reliable soldier for the Habs in a bottom-six role, and as a centre on this team, he is very valued given the team’s lack of depth at that position.

Oren Weizman: Call Kent Hughes many things. Call him overly patient for sticking with underperformers like Kirby Dach. Call him a poor evaluator of potential for passing on Matvei Michkov. Call him overly optimistic for entrusting his rebuild to a first-time coach still struggling to find consistency with a young group on the outside looking in at the playoffs.

Heck, call his bald cranium the second most famous oval in Montreal after the Orange Julep.

But one thing you can’t say is that he doesn’t know how to sell Montreal’s rebuild to his own players. Evans’ contract extension speaks volumes about that ability—more than anything we’ve seen from past or present administrations on De la Montagne.

Evans is heading into the deadline with long-term security, locked in for the next four years. By the time his contract expires, he’ll account for less than 3% of the team’s salary cap. But ask anyone who watches him play, and they’ll tell you he brings far more than that to the table. A true two-way presence, Evans isn’t just a role player; he’s a vital part of this team’s efficiency and structure. Those who’ve followed him from his college days to the NHL won’t be surprised by his offensive upside, but his defensive reliability, work ethic, and ability to thrive in tough matchups have made him a cornerstone of Montreal’s lineup.

Unlike the Gallagher contract, this deal is a steal—from his draft position to his performance on the ice to his team-friendly extension. So, to Kent Hughes, I say: Bravo, maestro.