The future of Montreal Canadiens center Jake Evans remains unclear as conflicting reports have emerged in the past few hours regarding what the forward and the franchise will do next and ahead of the March 7 trade deadline.
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun and TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie provided opposing insights into Evans’ status, leaving the Canadiens’ next move in question as the former presented a trade situation while the latter nothing but assured the signing of a contract extension.
Appearing on TSN’s “Early Trading” on Thursday, LeBrun reported that the New Jersey Devils have expressed interest in acquiring Evans to bolster their center depth before the trade deadline.
“The Devils are among the teams that have already kicked tires on Jake Evans,” LeBrun said. “The Devils are looking for a center.”
LeBrun added that Evans’ affordable $1.7 million cap hit makes him an attractive target for contending teams in need of an offensive boost.
Evans, who was ranked in the no. 8 spot of The Fourth Period’s “Trade Watch List” for the 2025 deadline, has appeared in 40 games this season scoring 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points. The Fourth Period linked him to the Devils and the Los Angeles Kings.
Contradicting LeBrun’s report, Lavoie reported on TVA Sports that Evans’ long-term future is guaranteed to lie in Montreal, claiming it’s a matter of “when, not if” he will sign an extension.
“I don’t know when, but there is a wedding coming to ensure that Jake stays in the organization,” Lavoie said.
This divide in reports underscores the Canadiens’ complex position with the team surprisingly holding the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference less than two months from the March deadline.
Montreal’s position has made general manager Kent Hughes reluctant to fully commit to a sell strategy at this point, as he hinted at during his midseason press conference on Wednesday.
“We wanted to be in the mix in terms of progressing as a team. We want this group to be under the pressure of learning how to win when it counts,” Hughes said. “We’re in that conversation right now and let’s see how our players respond to it.”
The Canadiens have improved significantly in recent weeks, winning eight of their last ten games and boasting a 19-18-3 record that has the team fifth in the Eastern Conference’s wild-card race only three points outside of the second berth.