Player Discussion Jake Evans (Part II)

[Sorinth]

I'm not focused on Gallagher's production. I'm more focused on what line will be the new Danault line. Others like Toffoli, Caufield, Anderson, Hoffman are better fits with KK and Suzuki. Gallagher is overpaid, I've move past it and I would just let him do this thing... head down and playing north/south and shooting at all angles while providing good leadership and solid 200' game (likely our next captain).

Gallagher with Evans and Lehkonen at 5/5 but Gallagher gets PP time. I would expect meh results at 5/5 with production and he gets to pad his stats on the PP. That's how I would manage it and you don't have to agree. And like I said, Duchame will tinker so we will see different options and maybe we change our minds depending on what we see.

It sounds to me like you just don't want to answer because you know it's going to be bad. And for the record Gallagher has averaged 7 power play points each of the last 3 seasons (Pro-rated) so padding his stats via the PP seems unlikely.

 

[Habs Halifax]

It sounds to me like you just don't want to answer because you know it's going to be bad. And for the record Gallagher has averaged 7 power play points each of the last 3 seasons (Pro-rated) so padding his stats via the PP seems unlikely.

It can sound whatever way you want it to sound to you. Speculate all you want. I gave you my answer. I'm not focused on Gallagher's production at 5/5. I'm focused on what is the new Danault line and I feel we have better wingers than Gallagher to play with Suzuki and KK. Caufield, Toffoli, Anderson, Hoffman.

I'm sure we will see some sample size of Gallagher with KK at some point. Remember this conversation, we can circle back later.

Lehkonen / Evans / Gallagher is a line I would start with. I gave you my reasons and answered your questions or pondering thoughts

 

[MasterD]

Evans can easily become as good as Danault, he's super smart, has decent hands, good vision and great speed. Only issue is his history of consussions.

 

[Sorinth]

To bring this back to Evans, if we want him to become an actual 2-way player and not just a defensive one then we need to play him with offensive wingers who can carry the offensive load for the line and let him figure out how he can complement them. Danault was carried offensively by playing with Pacioretty & Radulov that one year, but that learning experience while being carried that allowed Danault to develop offensively enough that he became ok offensively. For Evans he shouldn't get the best wingers or 1st line minutes but we have enough depth at wing that he can play with wingers who are good enough offensively and don't need to setup by the C. The key to that though is both wingers need to be offensively gifted.

 

[CHfan1]

Yep that C line depth scares me a lot

Habs are strong in the wings but the center line is weak. It's not like KK and Poehl are 27 yrs old and Evans have a solid 3 years experience at center. So yep, the center line scares me a lot too.

I can understand why the centre line depth would scare people, but I think they’ll surprise. I could see Suzuki having the 2nd best season, production wise, for a Habs centre in the past decade. I think KK can play a good 200’ game with consistent linemates. I think Evans can be a decent 3rd line centre. They then have lots of options on the 4th line. Yeah, they are inexperienced, but there is talent there.

What should the Habs do at this point? Danault wanted to move on, I don’t think Eichel comes to Montreal, and the cost for a player like Dvorak is rumoured to be very high.

 

[Theodore450]

No they didn't.

Danault was drafted in the first round. Not too many guys are taken in the first round to top out as bottom six guys. Plekanec was playing with Kovalev and Kostitsyn when he was still breaking into the league, and was a fixture in the team's top two lines his entire time in Montreal minus the last few games before being bought out.

Umm danault was a late 1st throw in prospect that played 2 full seasons on the 4th and then finally playing with gally …..
Plek was in the ahl until 22 and only took the 1C mantle at 26.

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

I can understand why the centre line depth would scare people, but I think they’ll surprise. I could see Suzuki having the 2nd best season, production wise, for a Habs centre in the past decade. I think KK can play a good 200’ game with consistent linemates. I think Evans can be a decent 3rd line centre. They then have lots of options on the 4th line. Yeah, they are inexperienced, but there is talent there.

What should the Habs do at this point? Danault wanted to move on, I don’t think Eichel comes to Montreal, and the cost for a player like Dvorak is rumoured to be very high.

Eichel doesn't come to Montreal, neither Dvorak or the others from that pool list. The team starts as it is now. Koptkaniemi will have to battle his center spot with Perreault, Paquette, Evans and Poehling. Maybe Drouin is an option #5 at center, who knows. I suspect KK will be considered in a trade talk over the season.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Evans can easily become as good as Danault, he's super smart, has decent hands, good vision and great speed. Only issue is his history of consussions.

I agree the potential is there but he has work to do. Opportunity is there like Danault had when he started to play full time at center with us back when. Evans has not played a full 82 game season in the NHL yet. He's a good option for us and is mature at the age of 25 but results on the ice with more ice time is undetermined at this point. We all probably agree on his potential but some are ignoring his lack of experience and how things change when Danault is taken out of the picture. I'd steer clear of the Evans can "easily" become as good as Danault at this point in time

19/20 (Age 23):
* 3 pts in 13 games
* 10:21 of ice time
* 47.1% Corsi for with 47.9% of D zone starts
* 29 wins in 56 total faceoffs

19/20 (Age 23) *Playoffs:
* 1 pts in 6 games
* 7:48 of ice time
* 49.0% Corsi for with 46.4% of D zone starts
* 12 wins in 27 total faceoffs

20/21 (Age 24):
* 13 pts in 47 games
* 11:50 of ice time
* 46.4% Corsi for with 59.7% of D zone starts
* 203 wins in405 total faceoffs

20/21 (Age 24) *Playoffs:
* 2 pts in 7 games
* 15:32 of ice time
* 46.4% Corsi for with 59.7% of D zone starts
* 20 wins in 39 total faceoffs

His 7 playoff games was a good sample but we need a bigger sample size.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Eichel doesn't come to Montreal, neither Dvorak or the others from that pool list. The team starts as it is now. Koptkaniemi will have to battle his center spot with Perreault, Paquette, Evans and Poehling. Maybe Drouin is an option #5 at center, who knows. I suspect KK will be considered in a trade talk over the season.

It's a catch 22 with Kotkaniemi. If he comes out this season and jumps forward and produces with more ice time and opportunity cause we are forced to use him more with Danault gone, do we even want to trade him at that point? However, if he comes out and struggles, who's going to want to acquire him for the value we want?

If KK is on a 60-80 pts pace in his age 21 season, we keep him right? Kind of like some considering to trade Caufield for Laine before last year but would not even think about that today. And no, I'm not saying KK will be for sure on a 60-80 pts pace with more ice time. Just pondering about how we manage him in trade talk if he produces

 

[abo9]

Why we just talk about Danault' s offensive game last season, but never mention his line mates ? In my mind, Gally and Tatar are the ones that are supposed to put the goals in that trio. If they don't , Danault won't get assists of course. So why it's only on him that the fans complain ?

Because Gallagher was trending for 33 goals during the RS... which is literally the top we can expect from him based on past performances?

Tatar had a somewhat disapointing season compared to the past 2, but he was still living up to his career averages production-wise.

Meanwhile Danault was pacing for sub 40 points, his worst production since becoming a regular, which is a pretty disapointing season in a contract year and after his talks of wanting more offensive responsibilities.

Not that Danault should be evaluated offensively - he's pretty one-dimensionally defensive imo, but people are not gonna discuss problems that aren't there for Gallagher and Tatar...

 

[Habs Halifax]

Because Gallagher was trending for 33 goals during the RS... which is literally the top we can expect from him based on past performances?

Tatar had a somewhat disapointing season compared to the past 2, but he was still living up to his career averages production-wise.

Meanwhile Danault was pacing for sub 40 points, his worst production since becoming a regular, which is a pretty disapointing season in a contract year and after his talks of wanting more offensive responsibilities.

Not that Danault should be evaluated offensively - he's pretty one-dimensionally defensive imo, but people are not gonna discuss problems that aren't there for Gallagher and Tatar...

Danault spoke about wanting more offensive responsibilities but then our coach took him off the PP and gave him more D zone starts. Gallagher and Tatar still got PP time. I think it's disingenuous to attack Danault that way when we gave him an even bigger defensive role and he didn't whine about it all season long. In the playoffs, he was a whopping 78% of D zone starts. Well no shit his offensive numbers go down. 60-65% of D zone starts are high. 78%?

It's not rocket science. Depending on usage and zone starts, Danault is a 35-55 pts center. In other words, his production changes depending on usage and what we ask him to commit to.

 

[Redux91]

Its clear bergy likes Evans and that he will be given a HUGE role next year
good for him, he honest to god deserved it, and has shown that he can handle it imo, he had a tremendous playoffs sandwiched around a dirty cheap shot

I dont personally mind starting the year with the current Center group, i really dont, but my brain kept telling me theres no way they DO go forward with this C corps and that a trade was for sure in the works, probably with KK unfortunately at the center of it, but the more and more the days pass it looks like it WILL be those guys so hey, im all for it, lets see what they can do

 

[Not The One]

Its clear bergy likes Evans and that he will be given a HUGE role next year
good for him, he honest to god deserved it, and has shown that he can handle it imo, he had a tremendous playoffs sandwiched around a dirty cheap shot

I dont personally mind starting the year with the current Center group, i really dont, but my brain kept telling me theres no way they DO go forward with this C corps and that a trade was for sure in the works, probably with KK unfortunately at the center of it, but the more and more the days pass it looks like it WILL be those guys so hey, im all for it, lets see what they can do

Good luck to Evans I'm sure he can doo good work defensively, but everyone here whined about Danault's offensive production (despite the aforementioned 78% DZ starts) and I'M really not sure who in the world they are going to replace even half of that with Evans.

 

[Redux91]

Im sorry , are you saying we're going to have a hard time replacing Danaults 5 goals in the reg season and his 1 goal in the playoffs?
KK already approached Danaults production just last year being partially mishandled espescially after the Staal acquisition
And im not guaranteeing it, but if they are giving Evans the role I think they are for next year, he can easily match Danaults 5 goals , nobody can match the face off numbers or slightly better defensive prowess, but offensively, i feel a TON better giving all of Danaults offensive opportunities to KK and Evans for this year, not even sweating that

 

[Catanddogguitarrr]

It's a catch 22 with Kotkaniemi. If he comes out this season and jumps forward and produces with more ice time and opportunity cause we are forced to use him more with Danault gone, do we even want to trade him at that point? However, if he comes out and struggles, who's going to want to acquire him for the value we want?

If KK is on a 60-80 pts pace in his age 21 season, we keep him right? Kind of like some considering to trade Caufield for Laine before last year but would not even think about that today. And no, I'm not saying KK will be for sure on a 60-80 pts pace with more ice time. Just pondering about how we manage him in trade talk if he produces

But it also depends if the other team see him as an interresting project to developp better than Mtl did with him so far. Like read all the narrative he's been misused over the years, just like Eller and Galchenyuk before him, you know the worst hockey coaching that scrap carreers of promising young players. There are plenty of posters here that can explain to you.

But let's be serious for a moment, sure it's better to be patient and see what he can developp to. A future Lars Eller or a future Bobby Smith, we'll see. So far, it's impossible to build a package deal trade involving KK that could bring Eichel or anyone close to this value, so better be patient with KK.

 

[abo9]

Danault spoke about wanting more offensive responsibilities but then our coach took him off the PP and gave him more D zone starts. Gallagher and Tatar still got PP time. I think it's disingenuous to attack Danault that way when we gave him an even bigger defensive role and he didn't whine about it all season long. In the playoffs, he was a whopping 78% of D zone starts. Well no shit his offensive numbers go down. 60-65% of D zone starts are high. 78%?

It's not rocket science. Depending on usage and zone starts, Danault is a 35-55 pts center. In other words, his production changes depending on usage and what we ask him to commit to.

I was just responding to the poster wondering why nobody attacks Gallagher and Tatar's offensive contributions... well it's because it was on part with what we know of them

Agreed on Danault getting no chance to do anything offensively in the playoffs, not that it mattered - he did his job right

 

[ZUKI]

Im sorry , are you saying we're going to have a hard time replacing Danaults 5 goals in the reg season and his 1 goal in the playoffs?
KK already approached Danaults production just last year being partially mishandled espescially after the Staal acquisition
And im not guaranteeing it, but if they are giving Evans the role I think they are for next year, he can easily match Danaults 5 goals , nobody can match the face off numbers or slightly better defensive prowess, but offensively, i feel a TON better giving all of Danaults offensive opportunities to KK and Evans for this year, not even sweating that

Habs are going to have hard time to prevent the 50 goals of the opposite teams that Danault was preventing helped by Gally and Tatar.
But you are totally right, they wont going to have a hard time to replace his 5 goals.

 

[ZUKI]

Because Gallagher was trending for 33 goals during the RS... which is literally the top we can expect from him based on past performances?

Tatar had a somewhat disapointing season compared to the past 2, but he was still living up to his career averages production-wise.

Meanwhile Danault was pacing for sub 40 points, his worst production since becoming a regular, which is a pretty disapointing season in a contract year and after his talks of wanting more offensive responsibilities.

Not that Danault should be evaluated offensively - he's pretty one-dimensionally defensive imo, but people are not gonna discuss problems that aren't there for Gallagher and Tatar...

Gally missed 18-19 games because injury. Tatar didn't deliver his production with Habs, as you said. My point is that why blame only Danault for his bad production. Even if injured, the lost of Gally got an impact, as it was by the bad season of Tatar

 

[ZUKI]

I just realize that this thread is about Evans and that me and others have completely turn it into a talk about Danault; I am sorry and apologize to all the members for this .

 

[BLONG7]

Of course we don't without Price. But it doesn't change the fact that Danault did an amazing job too

Curious as to why everyone leaves out his line mates? His line played their role very well, during the PO's

 

[BLONG7]

As for Evans...............I think he surprises alot of people this season...

 

[ZUKI]

Curious as to why everyone leaves out his line mates? His line played their role very well, during the PO's

right !

As for Evans...............I think he surprises alot of people this season...

Evans = a very good hockey IQ and is a hard worker. It's a good combo to start

 

[abo9]

Gally missed 18-19 games because injury. Tatar didn't deliver his production with Habs, as you said. My point is that why blame only Danault for his bad production. Even if injured, the lost of Gally got an impact, as it was by the bad season of Tatar

I'm sorry, you want us to blame Gallagher for being injured? Or blame Danault's lack of offense on Gallagher being injured?

I think people like to blame Danault just because it's easy.
- He had a bit of "cocky" comments last off-season (the hockey community HATES that)
- Pretty average/bad offensive production for a 1C/2C (I'm not entering that debate Danault is pretty good defensively to compensate his offensive woes)
- He wanted a big contract, but doesn't produce well offensively (not exactly super common in the NHL)
- He was our first C for a couple year when we were a lottery team (not his fault, but he was the face of the biggest hole we had in our lineup, the center position)
- He's a local boy (this one is more of a reach, but I think the media overhyping him, him not taking a team friendly deal, etc etc riles up a couple fans)

 

[KevSkillz4]

If KK and Evans play on their potential, the group of C are pretty good.

 

[KevSkillz4]

If KK and Evans play on their potential, the group of C are pretty good.

I say nothing. But with Dvorak, we have good depth at C.

Evans can be a solid 3C for us. 22 points on pace in 82 games that's not bad, with his hockey IQ, 30-35 points it's a good projection for him.