Snapshots: Tarasov, Dumba, Vanecek, Miller, Nugent-Hopkins
It has been a tough year for Blue Jackets goaltender Daniil Tarasov. The 25-year-old has played to a 4.26 GAA and a .857 SV% in his nine starts and has only played once in the last month while AHL starter Jet Greaves has seen time with Columbus since then. However, GM Don Waddell told Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription link) that he has no plans to put the netminder on waivers, feeling that Tarasov has too much talent to go through unclaimed. Tarasov had some success just last season when he had a 3.18 GAA and a .908 SV% in 24 games so they’ll continue to work with him in practice for the time being. It’s a contract year for Tarasov who will be owed a $1.26MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights this summer so he’ll need to turn things around soon or risk being a non-tender candidate in June.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- While Stars defenseman Mathew Dumba returned to practice today with a full cage, he will not suit up on Monday against Utah, relays Sam Nestler of DLLS Sports (Twitter link). He has missed the last two weeks with an upper-body injury. It has been a tough first year in Dallas for Dumba as he has been limited to just one assist in 19 games so far this season which is not the type of production the team was expecting when they signed him to a two-year, $7.5MM contract this summer.
- Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky told reporters including Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (subscription link) that they expect to have more information on the path forward for goaltender Vitek Vanecek in the next day or two. The netminder was hit by a puck on the bench on Tuesday and was listed as week-to-week. He has since seen a specialist so further clarity on how much longer he’ll be out should be coming soon. Vanecek, a pending unrestricted free agent, has a 3.84 GAA and a .885 SV% in 14 appearances this season.
- Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller missed today’s game and remains listed as day-to-day, mentions NHL.com’s Dan Rosen (Twitter link). New York was hoping that he’d be able to return from his upper-body injury but evidently, he wasn’t quite ready to do so. The Rangers are in action on Monday against New Jersey so it’s possible that he returns then or they could opt to give him a few more days of rest over the break. Miller has just six points in 30 games so far while sitting second in ice time among blueliners at over 21 minutes a night.
- Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was scratched tonight due to illness, notes Bob Stauffer of 880 CHED (Twitter link). The veteran had played in all 33 games before this one but is having a quiet year offensively, tallying six goals and a dozen assists. For comparison, Nugent-Hopkins had 18 goals and 49 helpers in 80 games just last season.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Vancouver Canucks
Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2024-25 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We’re currently covering the Pacific Division, next up is the Canucks.
Vancouver Canucks
Current Cap Hit: $86,793,708 (under the $88MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Aatu Raty (one year, $837K)
Potential Bonuses
Raty: $32.5K
Raty was one of the key pieces acquired in the Bo Horvat swap but his opportunities at the NHL level have been relatively limited so far. He has played in the bulk of Vancouver’s games thus far this season (which bodes well for his games played bonus) but strictly on the fourth line. As a result, he’s heading for a short-term bridge deal, one that shouldn’t cost much more than this one.
Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level
F Brock Boeser ($6.65MM, UFA)
D Erik Brannstrom ($900K, RFA)
D Derek Forbort ($1.5MM, UFA)
G Kevin Lankinen ($875K, UFA)
D Noah Juulsen ($775K, UFA)
F Pius Suter ($1.6MM, UFA)
Boeser seemed like a candidate for a longer-term deal a couple of years ago but wound up with what amounted to a second bridge contract. That has worked out well for him as he had his best offensive performance last season and has started strong this year. That should have him in line to add a couple million or so per year to his next deal, one that will be close to a max-term one this time around. Suter didn’t have much success on the open market last time but basically produced at the same level last season as his first three years and is off to a better start this season. He’s not the type of player who should be commanding a massive raise but a multi-year agreement with a price tag starting with three should be reachable.
Forbort received this deal in free agency in the summer and he was hoping to rebuild some value after a tough, injury-riddled year in Boston. However, the early going this season has been tough and injury-riddled. At this point, another drop in money might be coming his way while he’ll likely want another one-year deal. Brannstrom was non-tendered by Ottawa over the summer and has already cleared waivers this season which doesn’t bode well for his situation. His arbitration eligibility makes him a likely non-tender again but he could plausibly land a small raise to get back into seven figures. Juulsen has largely been a seventh defender with Vancouver, a role he’d probably have with several other organizations. Accordingly, teams will want him at or near the league minimum salary he’s currently making.
Lankinen didn’t get the type of contract he wanted early in free agency, resulting in him waiting it out. That seven-figure deal didn’t come but he has been a terrific fit with the Canucks which should give hit market value a big boost if he can keep it up. A jump back into the $2MM range might be an option for him but if he wants to stay in Vancouver, he will probably have to accept less than that.
Signed Through 2025-26
F Teddy Blueger ($1.8MM, UFA)
G Thatcher Demko ($5MM, UFA)
D Vincent Desharnais ($2MM, UFA)
F Conor Garland ($4.95MM, UFA)
F Danton Heinen ($2.25MM, UFA)
F Kiefer Sherwood ($1.5MM, UFA)
G Arturs Silovs ($850K, RFA)
D Carson Soucy ($3.25MM, UFA)
Garland has seemingly been on the trade block off and on for a couple of years now but overall, he has been relatively consistent with Vancouver. Over the first three seasons of this contract, he has recorded at least 16 goals and 46 points while his maximums over that stretch are 20 and 52, respectively. While they didn’t have much luck finding the right trade for him, his contract isn’t a significant overpayment by any stretch but the price tag and term remaining made it hard to move for full value. While his smaller stature would work against him to a point on the open market, it’s quite possible that Garland is able to command a similar contract to this one next time out both in term and salary.
Heinen had to settle for a PTO a year ago but had more success in free agency back in July with this deal. As long as he can provide some secondary scoring and hold a regular role in the middle six, they should do fine with it. Blueger took a small pay cut in June to remain with Vancouver despite matching his career-high in points. If he can hold that uptick in production, he could push past the $2MM mark on his next deal, a mark he reached at the end of his time with Pittsburgh. Sherwood impressed in his first full NHL season last year, earning this deal in July. He’s playing on the third line and is on pace to shatter the NHL record for hits in a single season. We’ve seen players like this before command sizable deals on the open market so if he keeps this up, doubling this and then some is a realistic outcome.
Last year wasn’t a great one for Soucy who dealt with some injury trouble. He’s a veteran fifth defender who can play up in a pinch but not contribute much offensively. The market for those players is more stagnant so while it’s possible he could land another raise in 2026, it’s likely going to be of the marginal variety. Desharnais only had one full NHL year under his belt as he reached free agency which likely limited his market to an extent. He’s being deployed as more of a depth defender with Vancouver and if that holds, he’ll be hard-pressed to command much more than that with a lot of teams trying to keep the back-of-the-roster spots cheaper now.
Demko was the runner-up for the Vezina last season and it looked like a long-term deal with a sizable raise would soon be coming his way. But the continued knee struggles dating back to the playoffs will hinder his market and likely take the types of deals that Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman ($8.25MM) received off the table. It wouldn’t be shocking for both sides to want a short-term agreement at a small raise to give Demko time to prove that he can fully get past the injury issue. Silovs is the presumptive backup of the future after a solid run in the playoffs in relief of Demko although he’s off to a rough start this year. If Silovs can do well in that role next season (assuming Lankinen moves on), doubling this price tag with arbitration rights could be the minimum increase. But if he struggles or stays in a third role, he’ll stay around that price tag for his next deal.
Signed Through 2026-27
D Quinn Hughes ($7.85MM, UFA)
D Tyler Myers ($3MM, UFA)
Hughes skipped the bridge deal and went straight to this one, though it was two years shy of a max-term deal to help keep the cap hit lower. While Vancouver is certainly benefitting from that now, Hughes will hit the open market at 27. At that point, a max-term contract is all but a certainty considering he has emerged as a premier offensive blueliner. That deal could plausibly come in around $11MM per season if he keeps this up. Myers took a 50% cut from his last contract to remain with the Canucks for what should be a decent value deal for now as long as he can have some success on the second pairing. That said, he’ll be 37 when this expires and will quite likely be going year to year from there at a lower rate than this, assuming he’s a little further down the depth chart at that time.
Blue Jackets Recall Denton Mateychuk For NHL Debut
The Blue Jackets are recalling top defense prospect Denton Mateychuk from AHL Cleveland, reports Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. He’ll be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game, which could be as soon as tomorrow against the Canadiens. The team later announced that forward James Malatesta was returned to Cleveland in a corresponding transaction, while Justin Danforth also landed on injured reserve. Additionally, goaltender Jet Greaves was added on an emergency recall and will be available tomorrow against Montreal.
As Portzline notes, it’s unclear if Mateychuk’s recall is in response to an injury to star blue-liner Zach Werenski. He sustained an apparent knee injury early in the third period of yesterday’s overtime loss to the Flyers after getting tangled up with Philadelphia winger Owen Tippett but only missed a couple of shifts before returning. Head coach Dean Evason confirmed postgame that Werenski wasn’t 100%, though, calling his status for tomorrow “hopeful” (via Brian Hedger of The Columbus Dispatch).
Mateychuk, 20, is now undoubtedly the highest-caliber defense prospect in the Blue Jackets organization after they traded David Jiříček to the Wild last month. McKeen’s Hockey ranked him as the second-best prospect in the system behind center Cayden Lindstrom at the beginning of the season, while Scott Wheeler of The Athletic listed him as the No. 35 prospect in the league over the summer. Columbus selected him 12th overall in 2022 after taking Jiříček sixth, and he responded with eight goals, 57 assists and 65 points in 63 games while captaining the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League in his post-draft year.
The Winnipeg native improved further in 2023-24, posting 75 points and a +35 rating in 52 games with Moose Jaw while winning the Bill Hunter Trophy as the WHL’s top defenseman. He added 11 goals and 30 points in 20 playoff games as the Warriors captured their first-ever WHL championship, and he was crowned playoff MVP after leading the postseason in assists with 19. He headed to AHL Cleveland for his first taste of professional hockey after his Memorial Cup run with Moose Jaw was over, posting three assists in four postseason contests.
That showing had Mateychuk in contention to land a spot on the Blue Jackets’ opening night roster, but a logjam of names ahead of him meant he was one of the final cuts from their training camp. He took the demotion in stride and then some, racking up nine goals and 16 assists for 25 points through his first 27 regular-season games with Cleveland. That’s good enough for the league lead in scoring among defensemen – obviously a major accomplishment for a rookie.
A left-shot defenseman, Mateychuk checks in at 5’11” and 192 lbs. He’s in the first season of his entry-level contract, which was signed in 2022 but slid twice due to a lack of NHL service team. He’ll be eligible to test restricted free agency in 2027.
Malatesta, 21, was recalled last Wednesday amid a lower-body injury to Danforth, who hasn’t played since Dec. 10. The 2021 fifth-round pick played in the Jackets’ last two games, posting a -1 rating and averaging 10:34 per game while failing to register a shot on goal. The Montreal native is producing 0.48 points per game through 25 appearances with Cleveland this season, up from last year’s 0.39 mark.
Since Danforth has missed more than seven days with his lower-body injury, he’ll be eligible to come off IR at any time. The Sacred Heart product has three goals and five assists for eight points in 25 games this season and is averaging a career-high 15:20 per night.
Greaves’ recall coming under emergency conditions suggests either Elvis Merzļikins or Daniil Tarasov will be unavailable to dress for tomorrow’s game. Tarasov has been healthy by all accounts but hasn’t appeared in a game since Dec. 5, when he surrendered six goals on 36 shots to the Oilers. The 25-year-old is in danger of losing the No. 2 spot on Columbus’ goaltending depth chart to Greaves after logging a poor .857 SV% and 4.26 GAA through nine starts. The 23-year-old Greaves, meanwhile, has a .896 mark through three games.
Flames Name Trent Cull Interim Assistant Coach
The Flames have promoted AHL Calgary head coach Trent Cull to their NHL bench to serve as an interim assistant, per a team announcement. He replaces Brad Larsen for the time being, who’s been out on an indefinite personal leave of absence since Dec. 8.
It will mark the 51-year-old Cull’s second time serving on an NHL bench. He was promoted to an assistant role with the Canucks in 2022 after five years as their AHL head coach but was fired midway through the 2022-23 campaign alongside Bruce Boudreau. Cull returned to coaching the following offseason, signing on as Calgary’s AHL head coach. He replaced Mitch Love in the role after he moved to Washington to take a job with the Capitals as an assistant.
Under Cull, the Wranglers have a 55-36-10 record since the beginning of last season. Cull previously served as an AHL assistant with the Syracuse Crunch from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2013 to 2017. In the meantime, he was the head coach of the Ontario Hockey League’s Sudbury Wolves.
Replacing Cull as the interim AHL bench boss will be longtime NHL defenseman Joe Cirella. Cirella has been with the Flames’ farm club as an assistant since the 2018-19 campaign, which was prefaced by a lengthy career in the Ontario Hockey League as an assistant and associate coach. Cirella also served as an assistant with the Panthers in the 1997-98 season, his first after retirement.
Rangers’ Matt Rempe Suspended Eight Games
Rangers winger Matt Rempe has been assessed an eight-game suspension by the league’s Department of Player Safety for a boarding/elbowing infraction against Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen, the league announced.
Rempe laid the hit on Heiskanen (explained further here) in the third period of Friday’s 3-1 win. He was ejected on the play, the fourth time he’s faced such discipline in his 22-game NHL career. He was also assessed a two-minute minor for elbowing on the play, as well as an additional roughing minor in the aftermath. Unsurprisingly, after being suspended four games for a similar infraction against Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler in March last season, he was offered an in-person hearing, which gives DoPS the option of suspending him for six games or more.
Rempe already missed today’s loss to the Hurricanes, so he has seven more games to serve. He’s considered a repeat offender under Player Safety guidelines and will forfeit $80K in salary during his suspension, relays Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic. He’ll still count against the active roster and the team’s salary cap during that time, reducing the Rangers’ flexibility for an extended period. He can appeal the suspension to league commissioner Gary Bettman, so it’s possible he might be back earlier than Jan. 9 against the Devils if he’s successful.
The incident was one of many controversial ones in Rempe’s young career. The 22-year-old, who the Blueshirts selected 165th overall in the 2020 draft, has accumulated 95 PIMs in just 22 appearances over the last two seasons while averaging 5:46 of ice time per game. The wealth of time spent in the dressing room or in the penalty box has limited his effectiveness offensively and put the Rangers in more shorthanded situations than they’d like, although it’s also worth noting he’s drawn the most penalties per 60 minutes of any Ranger over the last two seasons.
The 6’8″, 240-lb winger has spent most of this season on assignment to AHL Hartford, where he has three goals, two assists and 22 PIMs in 18 showings with a -3 rating. His game against Dallas was only his fifth NHL appearance of the season.
In the meantime, Rempe’s absence will secure more ice time for developing depth options like Brett Berard and Adam Edstrom. They still have veteran Jonny Brodzinski on hand as an extra forward to enter the lineup if necessary as well.
Panthers Recall Rasmus Asplund
The Panthers announced that center Rasmus Asplund has been recalled from AHL Charlotte. They’ve been rolling with an open spot on the active roster for quite a while, so no corresponding move is necessary.
Asplund, 27, will play in his first NHL game in 618 days this afternoon against the Lightning. He enters the lineup in place of winger Jonah Gadjovich, who head coach Paul Maurice said is unavailable due to an upper-body injury (via the team’s Jameson Olive). Center Jesper Boqvist is also day-to-day with an upper-body issue, so they would’ve only had 11 forwards on hand for today’s intra-state rivalry matchup without a recall.
Asplund is in his second season in the Panthers organization. Briefly an everyday player with the Sabres early in the decade, he fell out of a regular role in the 2022-23 campaign and, after an uneventful post-trade deadline stint with the Predators, wasn’t tendered a qualifying offer and settled for a two-way deal with Florida in free agency. After spending all of last season on assignments to Charlotte, he signed a duplicate extension aside from a slightly higher salary guarantee in late June to remain in South Florida and stay off last summer’s free agent market.
The Buffalo second-round pick back in 2016 was a decent two-way player near the bottom of the lineup in his days as an NHL roster fixture. The Swede posted 18 goals, 49 points and a -14 rating in 183 NHL appearances with the Sabres and Preds from 2019-20 to 2022-23, including a career-best 27 points in 80 games with the Sabres in 2021-22. He averaged over 14 minutes per game that season and posted a strong 52.8% shot-attempt share on a defensively challenged Sabres team, earning himself some outside Selke Trophy consideration.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t keep up that play in more shutdown-oriented minutes at even strength the following season and has since ended up as a minor-league fixture. He’s been a decent top-six piece in Charlotte, posting 19 goals, 41 assists and 60 points with a -2 rating in 92 appearances over the past two seasons. He’s got 10 goals and 16 points in 25 showings thus far in 2024-25.
Asplund can remain on the roster for up to 30 days or play in 10 games until he requires waivers to return to Charlotte. It’s likely that he’ll be returned to the AHL once Boqvist or Gadjovich is ready to return barring an unexpectedly strong showing.
Kings Request Extension For Arthur Kaliyev’s Conditioning Loan
The Kings haven’t had winger Arthur Kaliyev‘s services at all this season, at least at the NHL level. After an offseason marred by a trade request and a lengthy contract negotiation, the 23-year-old signed a one-year, $825K deal at the beginning of training camp only to sustain a collarbone fracture two days later.
He was cleared to play earlier this month and was subsequently sent to AHL Ontario on a conditioning loan that can only last two weeks. That mark is approaching on Tuesday, although Ontario doesn’t have another game until after Christmas. After the 2019 second-round pick was limited to one assist in four games over the past couple of weeks, the Kings are requesting an extension for him to remain in Ontario for two more contests through the end of this week, John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor reports.
The lack of goals wasn’t for lack of trying, Hoven notes. The Uzbekistan-born winger had four shots on goal in two separate outings. Shooting the puck has never been a problem for Kaliyev, who averages nearly four shot attempts per game since making his NHL debut in 2020-21 despite averaging around 12 minutes per game. But despite strong production for his usage, averaging 15 goals and 31 points per 82 games, he hasn’t been able to ever earn a legitimate chance outside of a bottom-six role. Last season was especially difficult for Kaliyev, who had his worst offensive showing as a full-time NHLer with seven goals and 15 points in 51 games.
Kaliyev has long desired a change of scenery to a club where he has a better chance of earning a top-six role. Unfortunately for him, the lack of production in his brief AHL stint has likely done nothing to drum up trade interest around the league after the Kings failed to land an acceptable offer over the summer.
If he remains in a slump when he returns to the NHL later this month, he may need to wait until the summer and hope for a non-tender from Los Angeles to allow him to test the open market. The Kings retained his rights by issuing him a qualifying offer in June despite reports suggesting they may do otherwise.
Wild Reassign Travis Boyd, Jesper Wallstedt
The Wild have returned forward Travis Boyd and goaltender Jesper Wallstedt to AHL Iowa, per the team’s public relations staff. The move leaves them with two open active roster spots and no extra forwards for tomorrow’s game against the Blackhawks, suggesting one of their injured reserve-bound forwards, either Joel Eriksson Ek or Yakov Trenin, might be able to return to the lineup, as Michael Russo of The Athletic relays.
Boyd, 31, was recalled Friday for Minnesota’s back-to-back against Utah and the Jets. It was the veteran’s fourth summons of the season after clearing training camp. None of his recalls have lasted for an extended period of time, with the longest totaling nine days in late November. That’s meant he’s been able to avoid hitting waivers again when the Wild return him to the minors since he hasn’t accumulated enough days on the active roster nor NHL appearances to make his temporary exemption expire.
The Minnesota native was scratched for Friday’s loss to Utah but entered the lineup for last night’s 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Winnipeg, posting a blocked shot in 8:08 of ice time in what was his third NHL appearance of the season and his first since Nov. 27. The 2011 sixth-round pick of the Capitals has averaged a career-low 7:48 per game when dressed, going without a shot on goal and skating on the wing while starting a whopping 88.9% of his even-strength shifts in the defensive zone. That’s naturally led to some pretty horrid possession numbers. The Wild have only controlled 23.5% of shot attempts and 20% of expected goals with Boyd on the ice, but in such a small and biased sample, those numbers shouldn’t be read into much.
The right-shot forward has never posted very favorable possession metrics, though. This far into his professional career, he is what he is – a valuable depth scorer in limited minutes who’s currently being miscast in a defensive role. With forwards ahead of him on the depth chart returning to health, he’ll return to Iowa, where he leads the club in scoring with 18 points in 17 games in his first AHL action since the 2019-20 campaign.
Boyd has averaged 13 goals and 32 points per 82 games throughout his eight-year NHL career, including a career-high 17 goals and 35 points in 74 games three years ago with the Coyotes. After spending most of last season with Arizona on injured reserve with a pectoral muscle tear, he signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Wild when free agency opened to return to his home state for the first time since his senior season at the University of Minnesota a decade ago.
Wallstedt’s demotion suggests Filip Gustavsson could be ready to return to the crease, at least in a backup role, after missing the last four games with a lower-body issue. He never landed on IR, so Minnesota has continuously considered him day-to-day throughout his absence. Wallstedt, the Wild’s top goaltending prospect, allowed five goals on 24 shots against the Jets last night in his second start of the season. It’s been a difficult year for the 22-year-old Swede, who now has a .843 SV% in his two NHL appearances and a subpar .874 mark in 12 AHL games.
That stark regression comes after Wallstedt was an AHL All-Star each of the last two seasons, prompting Minnesota to sign the 2021 20th overall pick to a two-year, $4.4MM extension in October. At least for now, the stumbling Wild will be ecstatic to get Gustavsson’s services back instead. The 26-year-old has returned to his 2022-23 form, logging a stellar .922 SV%, 2.24 GAA, and two shutouts in 22 starts.
New Jersey Devils Reassign Colton White
Colton White‘s time with the New Jersey Devils is on pause after 10 days on the active roster. The organization announced the reassignment of White to their AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets. New Jersey also added that White will join Team Canada for the upcoming Spengler Cup instead of joining the Comets roster.
The 2024-25 season is his eighth professional season and his sixth with the Devils organization. New Jersey drafted White with the 97th overall pick of the 2015 NHL Draft and he’s been with the organization since aside from two years with the Anaheim Ducks organization.
Most of White’s value centers around his physicality. He’s tallied 10 assists in 84 games at the NHL level since the 2018-19 season with 57 blocked shots and 65 hits. He’s understandably scored more at the AHL level with 17 goals and 78 points in 274 games but has a dismal -69 rating throughout his career.
His inclusion on Team Canada’s roster for this year’s Spengler Cup will be the first international competition of White’s career. He’ll assist the Canadians in pursuing their first Spengler Cup victory since the 2019 tournament. The tournament will take place from December 26th to December 31st in Davos, Switzerland.
The Devils will likely make a corresponding roster move on defense after the Christmas break. They have one more game tomorrow night against the New York Rangers but will want more than six healthy defensemen on the active roster by the weekend.
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.