Canadiens Suffer Friendly Fire by Playing Evans in Top Six – The Hockey Writers Montreal Canadiens Latest News, Analysis & More

After notching an assist on fellow-Montreal Canadiens forward Alex Newhook’s second-period goal against the New Jersey Devils on Nov. 7, Jake Evans is likely staying put on the second line, at least for one more game. At what cost, though?

By all accounts, Evans is having a great start to the season… but for a bottom-six forward, which is what he’s been his entire career. That’s where he should stay, especially when the Habs still have alternative, more offensively capable options up front. So, the idea of putting Evans in an increased role should be a non-starter… one based on cold, hard logic and precedent.

St. Louis Struggles to Find the Right Line Combinations

Obviously, head coach Martin St. Louis is responsible for creating forward lines that work. And, generally speaking, little has to start this 2024-25 season. From a possession standpoint, despite the Canadiens having gotten relatively impressive production out of Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki, the dynamic duo has struggled to control play.

So, it’s understandable St. Louis would try to get them going by playing them with their old linemate from 2022-23 in Kirby Dach, who has struggled himself so far this season. As a line, in fact the most common Canadiens line that season, the three young forwards enjoyed significant success. Why not try to rediscover that lightning in a bottle, if it benefits the team as a whole?

The thing is, it’s arguably not, when Dach was initially acquired at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft to be the Canadiens’ No. 2 centre. Now, instead of playing a finally healthy Dach below Suzuki, you’re playing them beside one another? It’s definitely not, when you determine your best alternative to replace Dach down the middle as a result is a career bottom-six forward in Evans.

Related: Canadiens’ Only Choice Is to Play Dach at Center in 2023-24

All due respect to Evans, but the Canadiens have been down this road before, back when an initial lack of depth down the middle, with the departures of Phillip Danault and Jesperi Kotkaniemi forced Evans into playing above his paygrade. Combined with a record-setting, injury-plagued 2021-22 season, circumstances forced Evans into playing a then-career-high 15:36 per game.

Before that campaign, there had been a legitimate argument Evans would break out offensively. To his credit, he did. However, he did so only modestly, by scoring a career-high 13 goals and 29 points, totals that are nothing to scoff at, but not exactly anything that would indicate he had significantly higher to go, either in terms of production… or in the lineup.

Canadiens Acquired Dach to Play Centre

Case in point, that summer, when Evans was turning 26, theoretically right smack dab in the middle of his offensive prime, general manager Kent Hughes first acquired Dach to play centre… and then Sean Monahan. If the Canadiens sincerely felt Evans was a solution then, they wouldn’t have effectively kneecapped him in the lineup. They would have found some way to give him more ice time, instead of decreasing it to 14:29 per game the next season. In 54 games, he scored just twice, with 17 assists for a disappointing 19 points.

To be fair, Evans hit 16:01 (officially the sixth-most among forwards) last season and responded by justifying a renewed sense of faith in his offensive ability. He scored 28 points, mostly playing with Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson. Take from that what you will, but… if 29 points wasn’t enough to get him in the good graces of the coaching staff, why should 28, with fewer goals (seven), in even more ice time? What is St. Louis seeing for the first time, two years later?

In any case, that line has been largely relied on again in 2024-25. It’s arguably been the one that’s gelled the most, maybe due to a level of familiarity the three now have with each other. That theory begs another incredibly fair question: If something’s not broken, why fix it, especially by shuffling your forward lines to such a huge extent that you’re making it hard for new combinations to gel in turn?

For example, Evans now centres Newhook and Juraj Slafkovsky. The new second line had been formed against the Calgary Flames in a 3-2 overtime loss on Nov. 5. Evans did earn a shorthanded assist in that game, but on a Joel Armia goal. Despite the trio not having hit the scoresheet, St. Louis felt confident enough in its ability to, that he went back to it against the Devils… when Evans and Newhook combined for the goal mentioned at the top of the piece. As a result, you have to believe this isn’t the end of the doomed experiment.

What About Newhook?

It would be one thing if Evans was the only healthy centre available beyond Suzuki. It’s quite another when you’ve got Dach and Newhook probably raring to go in their respective bids to prove themselves as still-just-23-year-olds, with the latter having proven himself as a viable option down the stretch last season, the former having suffered a season-ending injury just two games into 2023-24.

Evans is now 28, which, while not old, is on the precipice of unrestricted free agency. If the Canadiens aren’t careful, not only will they potentially stagnate Dach’s development down the middle but convince themselves Evans is worth committing to with a long-term extension… when they’ve got Owen Beck knocking at the door as a theoretical upgrade in his role as a bottom-six pivot.

More to the point, by every objective assessment, 28 is an age at which you already have a pretty good idea of a player’s limitations. Evans is a great penalty killer who can undeniably contribute offensively. However, expecting him to put together something close to a 50-point season, which is about the absolute floor of where a top-six forward should be, is crazy. And, while the Canadiens have undeniably played better overall the last few games, it’s not like Evans in the top six has led to more victories. They’ve lost each game. They’re technically further away from a playoff, having played Evans on the second line, than before.

Canadiens Still Losing with Evans in Top Six

It’s clear the Canadiens want to be in the mix at the end of the season. However, continuing to lose, even closer games, isn’t the secret sauce here. There’s going to come a point when they must realize they’re still rebuilding and over-relying on veterans to keep them in games is only damaging the team’s long-term prospects, as they’re deprioritizing the need for their younger players to learn on the fly and their willingness to let them make mistakes.

Let’s be crystal-clear here: St. Louis isn’t perfect. That shouldn’t be a controversial statement. No one is. He has the propensity to make questionable lineup decisions, having made many in the past. Maybe he wants to ease Dach into the lineup more after his serious injury from last season. Great. Defer to Newhook down the middle, like you did last season, in the meantime, especially now that he’s started to score again, yes, admittedly alongside Evans.

Hell, give Evans credit if you want. Call him the Newhook Whisperer. Trademark the name. Put him in position to win the Jacques Beauchamp-Molson Trophy as the team’s unsung hero. He deserves it. Just as long, for the love of all that is holy, you, as the Canadiens, understand that hypothetically re-signing a centre who has never scored 30 points after five seasons in the NHL will only place a huge obstacle in the way of your young players properly developing into the roles they were acquired to play.

Yes, this may be the season, for Evans. Even if it is, it won’t be the season they make the playoffs, as a result. They’re admittedly unlikely to, however they play him. They may as well give Dach or Newhook some more reps in the process where they belong. Why not? What have they got to lose? Even more games? Unlikely.