Rumor: Evans asking for $4M x 5 years

[ReHabs]

Why in the hell would we want to tie up 20M on a role player?

Because people didn't learn their lesson with Armia the first time

 

[SwiftyHab]

Armia has been inconsistent his entire tenure with us. Evans has been a workhorse day in and day out. We have seen Evans without Armia because Armia takes days off.

He’s been consistent for the last year and a half. I’m ok with that. The team itself has been inconsistent before then

 

[BaseballCoach]

There's no upside in this deal. He's a great guy but also a 4th line center. People may think good 4th line centers are secret Swiss knives and keys for well-balanced team but in reality they are the easiest to replace. Give his place to a journeyman or a young prospect in the pipeline.

He has deserved his bag and will get it somewhere. But these are the type of free agency deals that sour very soon.

It can't be both. He can't be an unimpactful interchangeable 4th line center and ALSO "deserve his bag".

 

[BaseballCoach]

My argument from the get go. We already have two players ready to replace Evans in Beck and Kapanen.
People are freaked out we won't be able to replace his PK when in reality it's one of the easiest roles to replace. I don't get the fear mongering crowd who think we will far apart. I've also ascertained that our good PK coincided with Armia's uptick in play not Jake Evans.

Why in the hell would we want to tie up 20M on a role player?

Every team needs some experienced role players, but 5 x $4.0M is too much even for a center.

At 29 years old this summer, I'd be comfortable with max 4 years and with an AAV of $3.5M due to the rising cap.

But I would move him for a first rounder and a B+ prospect, or an A-level (Top 20 overall) prospect

 

[Hoochi Papa]

It can't be both. He can't be an unimpactful interchangeable 4th line center and ALSO "deserve his bag".

He can be a great 4th line center and too expensive to keep with free agency money. And I never said he has no impact. I'm not sure if you understand how free agency works but it is a market where every NHL team participates. And many times they make deals that are far too rich while trying to outbid each other. Evans will receive his bag at the free agency and he deserves his payday. But it may not be a great thing for the team that signed it.

 

[Vachon23]

I said under 30 years old. Duchene didn't came to mtl last time even with more $ offered. Nelson is not coming in Canada.

Down and Pius Suter will cost you as much as Evans on the open market.
Gourde is 5ft8, do we really want another small player?

I guess we could go for Faksa but what if doesn't want to sign with us? We go with Condotta?

Suzuki
Dach
Beck
Condotta

That would be terrible

I do think we have a chance with Duchene though. Last time, he always wanted to live in Nashville so that’s why he signed there but he did consider Montreal and we where his favorited team growing up

 

[Vachon23]

I've seen enough of Beck to know he wont take two years to fill his shoes so trade.

It will take time before he can take those defensive responsibilities, he won’t be able to take those minutes right away

 

[LaP]

It will take time before he can take those defensive responsibilities, he won’t be able to take those minutes right away

Right away no but wont take the 5 years Evans wants.

 

[Scriptor]

That would be terrible

I do think we have a chance with Duchene though. Last time, he always wanted to live in Nashville so that’s why he signed there but he did consider Montreal and we where his favorited team growing up

It's good justification to create hope he might sign here.

Personally, he'd likely be the best stop-gap for us because he can still skate at his age and he can still help our young wingers create. Would need to see if there is any chemistry with Laine, but I still think St-Louis should role out the following top-9 if we land an UFA like Duchene:

Caufield - Suzuki - Dach
Slafkovsky - Duchene - Demidov
Heienman - Beck - Laine

The fourth line would need to have Newhook at C with the two veterans, Anderson and Gallagher. I think that can work in the short term, but I would eventually see someone else, maybe F. Xhekaj take that role and we would just move on from the Newhook experiment.

Hopefully, Dach works out better on the wing in the top-6.

Otherwise, why not really try Roy for ten games alongside Caufield and Suzuki? Or, alongside Heinemann and Beck on a kid line, with Laine playing on the Suzuki line?

 

[LaP]

The thing is Beck should not be the Evans replacement. If they decide trading Evans they need to have a plan in place to replace him that isn't forcing beck into a shutdown role. I want Beck to have his shooting and offensive play encouraged

Beck doesn't project as a top 6 player so HE IS Evans replacement (him or Kapanen). If Beck becomes a 2nd liner it will be a bonus but it should not be counted on. As for the 4th line center role i'D rather have someone more physical hopefully Xhekaj i a few years.

 

[CHwest]

If we offer a contract it needs to be structured in a way that he can be moved in 2 or 3 yrs when a youngster is ready to take his place. Something like 5 yrs in the 4.3- 4.6 range in avg. salary but loaded some what in the first 2/3 yrs. Something a team would trade for when it is time to move him.

 

[Scriptor]

Yes but what I’m saying is, let’s say they get this guy in the offseason. The Habs window maybe opens in 2 years. Now this guy is 31 just when they start making the playoffs. Is he still effective? What about the following year? The year after?

I think that Bennet would at least be effective as a 2C through the first four years of his next contract; 29, 30, 31 and 32 years old, maybe throughout the entire contract, but let's be less convinced.

After four years, if Hage, or some C we draft in 2025, actually develops into a 2C, at worst, Bennett will still be an important part of the team as a 3rd line C or winger that battles in the playoffs.

He could also move to the wing on a 2nd line and help insulate the young C that has matured into the role.

That's how a transition would take place.

The idea that all the core needs to be between 24 and 26, or whatever age range you want to give it isn't a good model. You will have a few younger veterans nearing 30, a few veterans in their 30s and a few youngsters in their early 20s bringing value for the buck to help elevate the overall talent level on the roster.

I'd be very comfortable with Bennett joining the team on a 7-year contract starting next season. I also really don't think that he blocks a deserving youngster from graduating to the NHL in the role best suited for him, not with the development timeline ahead of these prospects and the fact that Bennett plays both C and wing already.

 

[Vachon23]

Right away no but wont take the 5 years Evans wants.

5 years no I agree

But it could take 2-3 years if he ever attempt that level

 

[Scriptor]

My argument from the get go. We already have two players ready to replace Evans in Beck and Kapanen.
People are freaked out we won't be able to replace his PK when in reality it's one of the easiest roles to replace. I don't get the fear mongering crowd who think we will far apart. I've also ascertained that our good PK coincided with Armia's uptick in play not Jake Evans.

Why in the hell would we want to tie up 20M on a role player?

The only real importance in having a PK role C, IMO, is taking those minutes away from Suzuki. We've seen, in the past, how playing crazy minutes with all the PK assignments on top of the PP assignments and extra minutes at even strength as a 1st line C have overtaxed Suzuki.

I'd rather have a Suzuki with extra energy to create more offense and cement his identity as a PPG, two-way 1sty line C.

I wouldn't severely overpay for that role C though.

 

[Scriptor]

Beck doesn't project as a top 6 player so HE IS Evans replacement (him or Kapanen). If Beck becomes a 2nd liner it will be a bonus but it should not be counted on. As for the 4th line center role i'D rather have someone more physical hopefully Xhekaj i a few years.

Beck does have 2nd line upside, depending on the identity of your second line. I see Beck as a Danault- type, shutdown C that is good in the dot, but with slightly higher offensive upside than Danault, even.

Better that we have an even more talented 2C and that he becomes a middle-6 C that represents a high end 3C.

 

[LaP]

5 years no I agree

But it could take 2-3 years if he ever attempt that level

It's not like he will suck for 3 years though. He wont be as effective as Evans defensively but the progression will be a curve in those 2-3 years. It's not like we are ready yet. I'd rather Beck get NHL exp starting next season he's not the kind of guy who stay in the AHL for 3+ years.

 

[Vachon23]

It's not like he will suck for 3 years though. He wont be as effective as Evans defensively but the progression will be a curve in those 2-3 years. It's not like we are ready yet. I'd rather Beck get NHL exp starting next season he's not the kind of guy who stay in the AHL for 3+ years.

Of course not, he will progress with years in the NHL

 

[Scriptor]

If we offer a contract it needs to be structured in a way that he can be moved in 2 or 3 yrs when a youngster is ready to take his place. Something like 5 yrs in the 4.3- 4.6 range in avg. salary but loaded some what in the first 2/3 yrs. Something a team would trade for when it is time to move him.

5 years in the 4.3-4.6 range is high as a range and term, of course. That salary structure you speak of should also be used to drag the salary demand down to 3.75M from the rumoured 4M, IMO.

Paying money up front raises the real money value to somewhere between 3.75M and 4M over the five year span. You end up cutting the pie in half if you wanted to give him 3.5M as a Cap hot and he wanted what would have given him a 4M cap hit, but the payout structure let's him make and invest money in time to come closer to his 4M wish.

Of course not, he will progress with years in the NHL

Agree that Beck needs to at least have a 3rd line role next year. Again, I would bolster that line by adding Heinemann and Laine as his wingers. This threesome would have complementary skills and could be very productive facing the bottom half of the opponents' depth charts.

That would mean adding a 2C, somehow, and converting Dach to the wing in a last ditch effort to cement him as a top-6 forward...

 

[417]

Been reading a lot of the comments in this thread, good arguments for and against it.

But I keep seeing one particular sentiment that's often repeated in this thread and it's that Jake Evans isn't worth 4M/yr.

Which is odd, because 4M/yr is EXACTLY what players like Jake Evans are making now, on an 88M team salary cap.

Some people would prefer not to pay him that, and that's fine, but to say he's not worth that in today's market is completely ignoring what the market is and where it's going.