Jake Evans was the Montreal Canadiens’ seventh-round pick, selected at 207th overall in 2014. He played four full seasons in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the University of Notre Dame hockey club, spending his last season as captain. Now, he has reached the 100-point mark in the NHL. Identified as a player to watch this season by The Hockey Writers, he has been one of the bright spots for the Canadiens. Only three players were drafted behind Jake Evans in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, yet he sits 39th in points from that same draft class.
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It isn’t like a player reaching the 1,000-point milestone like Conor McDavid, but for a former seventh-round pick to become an NHL regular, and one that can produce offensively, it is significant. Evans was finally able to reach this 100-point milestone against the Columbus Blue Jackets, at the Bell Centre, on a classic Hockey Night in Canada matchup on a Saturday night (Nov. 16) in his 286th NHL game.
Montreal’s issues with centre depth have meant that Evans, who began the season on Montreal’s fourth line, has been moved up to the role of the second-line centre. He has made the most of his opportunity centring the Canadiens’ second line between Cole Caufield and Alex Newhook. On this night, Evans had the third-highest ice time among Montreal’s forwards.
The Toronto native now has three goals this season, which is almost halfway to his total of seven goals he scored over a full 82-game 2023-24 season. That season, it took him 53 games to score his third goal, far more than the 18 games it took him to accomplish the feat this season. This 100th point came on a special night, when Evans’ former teammate, Shea Weber, was being added to Montreal’s Ring of Honour, which is reserved for former Canadiens who have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Evans’ milestone was reached by scoring a goal, his 30th in his NHL career, on a perfect pass from Caufield. The NHL’s leading scorer poked the puck ahead and into the Blue Jackets’ zone, out-hustled the defender to the puck, made a quick turn and threaded a perfect pass, through traffic, onto the stick of a streaking Evans who only had to tap it in to make it 4-1, putting the game out of reach and allowing the Bell Centre faithful to go home happy.
The 28-year-old centre returned from a concussion in 2021-22, which he sustained in the playoffs after a dirty and predatory hit by Winnipeg Jets centre Mark Scheifele during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs. That season, he reached career highs in goals (13) and points (29). Yet this season, he is on pace to reach a career-high 36 points. This is helpful for Evans, who is in search of his next contract as he is in the final year of a deal paying him a cap hit of $1.7 million.
He’s the type of player who Stanley Cup-competing teams love to add to their bottom six. He gives his everything every night, is a very strong penalty-killer, and is a player who can play it safe at 5-on-5, rarely making a mistake or a bad play. Also, he can help provide some offence. This, and his performance so far this season has made him the target of trade rumors, but it’s not seeming to distract him from his role on the ice.
His next milestone will be his 300th NHL game, which, barring injury or being a scratch, he will achieve on Dec. 20 when the Canadiens visit the Detroit Red Wings to kick off a weekend home-and-home series.
