Craig Button labels $5,100,000 Montreal Canadiens centre a "very, very desirable" trade target for Stanley Cup contenders

NHL analyst Craig Button praised Montreal Canadiens center Jake Evans as a valuable trade option for the deadline. Evans is in the final season of a three-year, $5.1 million contract signed on October 3, 2021. He becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2024-25 NHL season.

Speaking on The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro, Button said there would be a lot of teams interested in Jake Evans.

"I think there would be lots of interest in Jake Evans." Button said, "He's on a expiring contract, he's a right-shot center, somebody that can kill penalties, someone who can play those harder minutes."

"When you get to the trade deadline, sometimes you're just trying to strengthen different areas of you team. (Evans would be desired by) Stanley Cup contending teams, teams that wanna strengthen and bolster their lineup. I have no question that Jake Evans would be a very, very desirable player."

This season, Evans has 14 points in 28 games. Over his career, he has 106 points in 296 games, including 32 goals and 74 assists. His best season came in 2021-22 when he recorded 29 points in 72 games including 13 goals.

Evans is known for his two-way play and penalty-killing ability. His versatility as a center adds to his value for playoff teams. However, his career plus/minus of -10 suggests room for defensive improvement.

With $10.18 million in cap space, according to Puckpedia, the Montreal Canadiens could trade Evans to gain future assets. His ability to play important minutes makes him attractive to contending teams looking for depth.

Montreal Canadiens defeated the Ducks 3-2 in home arena

The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Anaheim Ducks 3-2 in a shootout on Monday at Bell Centre. Patrik Laine opened the scoring at 2:36 of the first period with a power-play goal from Nick Suzuki’s pass. Troy Terry tied it 1-1 at 10:49, scoring on a rebound after assisting Cam Fowler’s shot.

Terry scored again on a power play at 4:25 of the second period, tapping in Alex Killorn’s pass. Kirby Dach quickly tied it 2-2 just 11 seconds later. He scored into an open net after Juraj Slafkovsky’s assist.

In the shootout, Laine scored for Montreal Canadiens, and Sam Montembeault stopped both Anaheim attempts. Montembeault made 27 saves in regulation, helping the Canadiens secure their third win in four games.

“They came hard, you’ve got to give them credit,” Montembeault said per NHL.com,

The Ducks played hard, with Terry scoring twice, but they lost their third straight game. Anaheim goalie Lukas Dostal made 19 saves in the loss.