Canadiens, Jake Evans Haven’t Discussed Extension
The Montreal Canadiens are well-positioned to be deadline sellers for the fourth consecutive season. They also might have one of the most valuable rental candidates on the market.
Middle-six center Jake Evans is in the middle of a career year, only 11 points away from reaching career-highs in scoring despite playing in 39 fewer games. He’s scored seven goals and 19 points in 33 games for the Canadiens this season and sits fourth on the team in scoring. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent next summer when his three-year, $5.1MM contract concludes.
Montreal should theoretically be interested in keeping a player like Evans around but if they do — he doesn’t know it. In an interview with Eric Engels of Sportsnet, Evans replied, “Still crickets” when asked about extension negotiations with the Canadiens.
The Toronto, Ontario native is on pace for 17 goals and 47 points should he continue his current pace for the rest of the regular season. His career 50.8% faceoff rate and 89.2% on-ice save percentage in all situations should give interested teams confidence that Evans can play center toward the bottom of a contending lineup.
Evans’ biggest issue is his inconsistency over the last several years. That’s something he acknowledged in the interview with Engels when he said, “You start to understand your role and where you’re going to fit in and where you’re going to bring value to a team. Sometimes it takes guys half a season, but for me, moving up and down the lineup, you don’t really know what kind of player you’re supposed to be, and now I feel like I’ve finally found it.”
Still, even though he could conceivably double his current salary on the open market, Evans strikes as a player the Canadiens should keep around for the long haul. Cap space won’t be a concern for Montreal anytime soon and Evans has proven his value to the organization this season.
Canadiens Acquire Alexandre Carrier
The Canadiens and Predators have swapped blueliners before Thursday’s roster freeze. Montreal has acquired Alexandre Carrier from Nashville in exchange for defenseman Justin Barron. Both teams have announced the deal.
Carrier is in his seventh NHL season, all of which came with Nashville after they drafted him in the fourth round back in 2015. He has gone from a depth defender to one counted on inside their top four.
However, the 28-year-old hasn’t been able to duplicate his 2021-22 performance that saw him land a spot on the All-Rookie Team. That year, Carrier had 30 points and 124 blocks in 77 games while logging nearly 21 minutes a night of ice time. He only managed 29 points in the following two seasons and has seven in 28 outings this season while averaging just over 20 minutes per game. Carrier is currently dealing with an upper-body injury but is believed to be ready to return to the lineup, relays TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link).
Carrier had a chance to test unrestricted free agency for the first time this past summer but instead elected to remain in Nashville, inking a three-year, $11.25MM deal that runs through the 2026-27 campaign. With David Savard being a pending unrestricted free agent and a speculative trade candidate as a result, it stands to reason that Carrier will eventually take his role as the veteran option on the right side of Montreal’s back end, ensuring they’ll have one experienced player on that side beyond this season.
As for Barron, the 23-year-old was a first-round pick by Colorado back in 2020, going 25th overall. It’s the second time in his career that he’s been on the move after he was the centerpiece of the package that the Canadiens acquired in exchange for winger Artturi Lehkonen back at the 2022 trade deadline.
At the time, Montreal was hoping that he’d become a key cog on their back end for years to come. However, while Barron has shown flashes of being a capable NHL player, he has struggled with consistency. Last season, despite a stint with AHL Laval, he collected seven goals and six assists in 48 games while averaging 18:38 per game and it appeared as if he’d turned a corner in his development. That earned him a two-year, $2.3MM bridge deal this past summer.
Unfortunately for Barron and the Canadiens, that hasn’t been the case this season. He has been a frequent healthy scratch over the first two-plus months of the year, only getting into 17 of 31 games. In those outings, he has been limited to just one goal (without recording any assists) while his playing time has dropped to just 14:43 per game.
This move gives Nashville a younger player to try to turn into a full-time piece while saving the team $2.6MM on the salary cap. Barron will also still have two years of team control when his deal expires while Carrier will be an unrestricted free agent when his contract is up. With the Preds struggling much more than many expected this season, it will be interesting to see if GM Barry Trotz has any plans to quickly utilize those cap savings with the roster freeze approaching or if he’ll wait until the new year to try to add another piece to their roster.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
East Notes: Matheson, Laine, Ovechkin, Matinpalo
The Montreal Canadiens tweeted that defenseman Mike Matheson and forward Patrik Laine will not take part in today’s team practice. The tweet wasn’t overly detailed and described their absences as a “Therapy day.”
The Canadiens have been cautious with Laine as he just returned from injury and has played just four games this season. The former second-overall pick suffered a knee injury in the preseason and there were concerns he could miss the entire season. However, the 26-year-old fortunately was able to recover without surgery and missed just two and a half months of action. Laine has been sensational since returning, posting three goals and an assist.
There are no further details on Matheson at this time, but the 30-year-old did miss two games at the end of November with a lower-body injury. Matheson has been terrific once again this season for Montreal, registering two goals and 13 assists in 26 games.
In other Eastern Conference notes:
- Washington Capitals injured superstar Alex Ovechkin skated this morning as he tries to work his way back into game action (as per Tom Gulitti from NHL.com). Ovechkin skated in a non-contact jersey and had former teammate Nicklas Backstrom join him on the ice in a track suit. The 39-year-old Ovechkin is trying to overcome a fractured fibula that has kept him out of action since November 18th. Ovechkin had seven goals in the five games prior to the injury as he closes in on the NHL’s all-time goals record.
- The Ottawa Senators announced that they have loaned defenseman Nikolas Matinpalo to the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League. Matinpalo was recalled yesterday, but is being returned to Belleville as his shuttling back and forth continues. Matinpalo has yet to play an NHL game this season but did dress in four games last season. This year, the 26-year-old has dressed in 17 AHL games, picking up two goals and four assists.
Case For Montreal To Keep Matheson And Evans; Guhle Returns Tonight
While the Canadiens sit in the basement of the Atlantic Division once again and are speculated to be likely to move out more veterans, Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette argues that Montreal might be better off retaining two in particular, defenseman Mike Matheson and center Jake Evans. Matheson has one more year left on his contract at an affordable $4.875MM and had 15 points in 24 games so far this season after finishing in the top ten in scoring among NHL defenders in 2023-24. But with Lane Hutson impressing early on, some have wondered if he’d be available.
As for Evans, the 28-year-old is off to a career-best start with five goals and nine assists through 26 outings while logging 16 minutes a game while leading all NHL forwards in shorthanded ice time. A pending unrestricted free agent, he could conceivably double his current $1.7MM price tag on the open market. With his low cost this season, Evans could be one of the Canadiens’ better trade chips but Cowan suggests that he and Matheson might be the right types of veterans to keep around as Montreal tries to emerge from its rebuild in the coming seasons.
- Still with Montreal, Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle missed Thursday’s game against Nashville due to illness. However, TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie reports (Twitter link) that indications are that the 22-year-old will return to the lineup tonight. Guhle has recorded six points, 48 blocks, and 26 hits in 20 games so far while averaging a career-best 21:34 per night.
Canadiens, Oilers Complete Minor Swap
Two of the league’s storied Canadian franchises have gotten together on a minor-league deal. According to a press release from the Montreal Canadiens, the former is sending forward Jacob Perreault to the Edmonton Oilers for defenseman Noel Hoefenmayer.
Hoefenmayer is an older prospect being drafted with the 108th overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft by the Arizona Coyotes. He transitioned to professional hockey for the 2020-21 season but spent much of his first two years in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ ECHL affiliates.
The last three years have given Hoefenmayer more consistent playing in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies and Bakersfield Condors. He scored 11 goals and 38 points in 65 games for the Marlies in 2022-23 while adding 114 PIMs. His move to Bakersfield has been far less productive scoring only eight goals and 25 points in 58 games with the Condors.
Perreault is the only player in the swap to make his NHL debut. He was originally drafted by the Anaheim Ducks organization and selected 27th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft. He fell out of favor rather quickly in Anaheim, largely due to his defensive inefficiencies, and was traded to the Canadiens this past March for fellow 2020 draftee, Jan Mysak.
The deal is between two teams heading in different directions in the AHL standings. The Laval Rocket are fourth overall in the league standings with a 14-6-1 record through 21 games while the Condors sit in 25th with a 7-8-2-1 record through 18.
Kaiden Guhle Out Tonight With Illness
- The Montreal Canadiens announced that defenseman Kaiden Guhle wouldn’t play tonight due to illness shortly before the team’s matchup against the Nashville Predators. Justin Barron who’s scored one goal in 12 games for Montreal this season is filling in for Guhle on the blue line. Barron has two shots, one blocked shot, and one hit through 10 minutes in tonight’s game against Nashville.
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Evening Notes: Team USA, Annunen, Misa
Chris Johnston of TSN’s Insider Trading reported tonight that it appears Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield and Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson will not be a part of Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Both Caufield and Thompson have had strong starts to the season but were reportedly left off the roster as Team USA prioritized experience over young skill.
It’s a tough decision for Team USA, but one that makes sense given that the players they chose will be a better fit in the team’s bottom six forward group. Johnston floated the names of Vincent Trocheck, Chris Kreider and Brock Nelson as the players likely to make the team over Caufield and Thompson.
In other evening notes:
- The Nashville Predators reportedly tried to acquire goaltender Justus Annunen from the Colorado Avalanche last season in the Yakov Trenin deal (as per Predators reporter Brooks Bratten). The Predators scouts coveted Annunen for quite a while and are thrilled to have him in the fold. The 24-year-old has dressed in 11 games this season with Colorado, posting pedestrian numbers with a 6-4 record and a .872 save percentage. While those numbers certainly don’t jump off the page, Annunen was solid last season in 14 NHL games, posting a .928 save percentage and a 2.25 goals-against average.
- Jeff Marek of Daily Faceoff tweeted today that Boston University is interested in potential 2025 first-overall pick Michael Misa. The 17-year-old has been tearing up the Ontario Hockey League this season with the Saginaw Spirit, tallying 25 goals and 24 assists in 25 games. The Oakville, Ontario native is in his third full season in the OHL and has registered 76 goals and 104 assists in 137 career OHL games. BU is also apparently interested in Misa’s brother, Luke Misa, who is a Calgary Flames prospect playing for the Brampton Steelheads. Luke is having a nice season in Brampton, scoring 13 goals and adding 19 assists in 24 games.
Canadiens Activate Patrik Laine From Long-Term Injured Reserve
The Canadiens announced they’ve activated winger Patrik Laine from long-term injured reserve ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Islanders. He’ll make his Montreal debut after sustaining a left knee sprain during the preseason.
Montreal had a pair of open roster spots, but they’re $317.5K short of having ample space to remove his $8.7MM cap hit from LTIR. Without a corresponding move, that suggests the Habs have transferred goaltender Carey Price‘s contract from IR to LTIR to keep them compliant for the time being.
Laine’s Canadiens regular-season debut comes earlier than most expected after receiving a knee-on-knee hit from Cédric Paré in an exhibition game against the Maple Leafs in late September. Subsequent imaging revealed a sprain but no structural damage, easily the best-case scenario. The team issued a two-to-three-month return timeline for Laine, a window he entered a few days ago.
The 26-year-old Finn will skate in a second-line role at left wing alongside Kirby Dach and Juraj Slafkovsky, reports Kenzie Lalonde of TSN. It’s unclear how much his minutes will be restricted in his first NHL contest in 355 days.
Montreal acquired Laine from the Blue Jackets in a long-awaited move out of Columbus in August. They parted ways with defenseman Jordan Harris but received a 2026 second-round pick to take on the last two seasons of the oft-injured winger’s four-year, $34.8MM contract without any salary retention.
Laine’s 2023-24 campaign was truncated at the 18-game mark due to a collarbone fracture and subsequent lengthy stay in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. It marked the fifth straight season in which the 2016 second-overall pick missed at least 10 games due to injury after missing just nine total games combined in the first three seasons of his NHL career.
While the high-ceiling sniper hasn’t hit 30 goals since the 2018-19 campaign, he produced a 34-goal, 74-point clip per 82 games over his three full seasons as a Jacket. He’s a major offensive boost to a Canadiens team in the bottom half of the league at 2.83 goals per game.
Laine enters the lineup for sophomore Joshua Roy, who was reassigned to AHL Laval last night. Enforcer Michael Pezzetta is expected to be a healthy scratch against the Isles for the 16th straight game.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Canadiens Assign Joshua Roy To Laval
A week after recalling him, Joshua Roy is back in the minors. The Canadiens announced on Monday that the winger has been re-assigned to AHL Laval.
The 21-year-old played in 23 games with Montreal last season, notching nine points in that stretch which had him as a presumptive favorite to land a roster spot coming out of training camp. However, Roy struggled in the preseason, resulting in him being one of the final cuts in October.
Roy got off to a nice start with the Rocket this season, tallying eight goals and eight assists in 17 games to earn a recall to the big club. But the offensive success didn’t follow him to the Canadiens as he was held off the scoresheet in four appearances with Montreal while he was limited to just under 11 minutes of action per game.
With the assignment, the Canadiens now have two open roster spots and are only carrying the minimum number of forwards. However, Roy’s re-assignment could signal that Patrik Laine is ready to return to the lineup. He sustained a knee injury during the preseason and while he was able to avoid surgery, he has missed the better part of two months rehabbing from it and it appears as if he may be in line to make his Montreal debut on Tuesday.
Canadiens Place Rafaël Harvey-Pinard On Waivers
12/1: Harvey-Pinard has cleared waivers and been assigned to the AHL’s Laval Rocket.
11/30: According to a team announcement, the Montreal Canadiens are ready to activate forward Rafaël Harvey-Pinard from the long-term injured reserve. Harvey-Pinard won’t return to the Canadiens once his LTIR conditioning loan concludes as the organization shared they’ve placed him on waivers.
It’s been a long road to recovery for Harvey-Pinard after undergoing surgery in late July to repair a broken leg. He’s been on the shelf ever since with his last game in Montreal coming on the final game of the 2023-24 regular season.
His offensive output depressed last season going from scoring 20 points in 34 contests during the 2022-23 season to scoring 10 points in 45 games last year. His recent conditioning stint in Laval didn’t do much to inspire confidence as Harvey-Pinard only managed one goal in five games with a -4 rating.
He’ll get an extended look in the AHL should he clear waivers by tomorrow afternoon. It’s been two years since Harvey-Pinard spent significant time with the AHL Rocket scoring 16 goals and 31 points in 40 games during the 2022-23 AHL season. Montreal will also eliminate $1.1MM from their LTIR pool no matter what happens with Harvey-Pinard.
The Canadiens will have a home for Harvey-Pinard should he recover his confidence in the AHL. Montreal is 21st in the league in scoring with a number of their goals coming from the combination of Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. The organization hopes that Harvey-Pinard will regain his offensive capabilities in the AHL to re-capture a consistent role in the team’s middle six.