From “Each NHL team’s biggest unaddressed need a week into free agency” (The Athletic)
July 9, 2023
From “Each NHL team’s biggest unaddressed need a week into free agency” (The Athletic)
8 comments
please keep Evans for at least another season
Why Evans? Dude seems like a perfect 4th line centre. He’s also not exactly old, having just turned 27, and he’s relatively cheap. The return for him would also likely be minimal. I just don’t see any point to trading him.
I’d only be ok with moving Evans if he pulled a Lehkonen and won with his new team.
For Evans, could it be about making room for a guy like Owen Beck? We have to start getting some of these young guys some time with the big team
People freaking out about Evans being mentioned don’t seem to want to a) acknowledge how he would fit in the habs window b) underestimate how his cap hit and style of play can up his value while being replaceable internally
Last year had I been the oilers (for example) who needed defensive depth but could not find a defenseman at an affordable price may have benefitted from Evans two way style.
I don’t see the org shedding Evans or Dvorak.
I feel Dvorak is a piece that the org really likes (I’m on the fence tbh). But he’s good on faceoffs, young, and has upside (was injured last year). Add to that the fact that the core seems to like him (he’s always picture hanging out with Arber, Cole etc).
The author should have said either Dvorak or Evans, and added Armia. Dvorak and Evans are both 27, both signed for two more years and both will be UFA when their contracts are up, and both are good defensively. Dvorak a slight edge in both faceoffs and offensive ceiling (I see Dvorak as 40-50 points peak production, Evans 25-35), but there are a few big differences. Dvorak is a middling skater who relies on positional awareness for defensive assignments, while Evans is a much better skater who relies on his speed to forecheck, shadow and disrupt plays. He’s one of the few centers in the league that is capable of actually keeping up with McDavid and for the most part shutting him down. Dvorak can slot in as 2C in a pinch and do alright, not so much for Evans. However, Evans cap hit is approx 1/3rd of Dvorak’s, 1.7 mil to Dvorak’s 4.45 mil/year. All said and done, it’s hard to say get rid of one over the other. Evans is attractive due to what you get for the lower cap hit, Dvorak is attractive for being more versatile. To be honest, I’d rather keep both for at least another year, both are good vets to have around the younger players, and we all know injuries are going to rear their ugly head at some point – not to mention these two are our best face off guys. If both remain healthy, I think you have Suzuki 1C, Dvorak 3C and Evans 4C this coming season, and the 2C slot is where you play around with Dach or Newhouse if the coaching staff want to see him there. Let the Beck’s of our system marinate where they are for another year, no need to rush them at this point in the rebuild.
It’s Hoffman and Armia that are the priority to dump IMHO.
8 comments
please keep Evans for at least another season
Why Evans? Dude seems like a perfect 4th line centre. He’s also not exactly old, having just turned 27, and he’s relatively cheap. The return for him would also likely be minimal. I just don’t see any point to trading him.
I’d only be ok with moving Evans if he pulled a Lehkonen and won with his new team.
For Evans, could it be about making room for a guy like Owen Beck? We have to start getting some of these young guys some time with the big team
People freaking out about Evans being mentioned don’t seem to want to a) acknowledge how he would fit in the habs window b) underestimate how his cap hit and style of play can up his value while being replaceable internally
Last year had I been the oilers (for example) who needed defensive depth but could not find a defenseman at an affordable price may have benefitted from Evans two way style.
I don’t see the org shedding Evans or Dvorak.
I feel Dvorak is a piece that the org really likes (I’m on the fence tbh). But he’s good on faceoffs, young, and has upside (was injured last year). Add to that the fact that the core seems to like him (he’s always picture hanging out with Arber, Cole etc).
The author should have said either Dvorak or Evans, and added Armia. Dvorak and Evans are both 27, both signed for two more years and both will be UFA when their contracts are up, and both are good defensively. Dvorak a slight edge in both faceoffs and offensive ceiling (I see Dvorak as 40-50 points peak production, Evans 25-35), but there are a few big differences. Dvorak is a middling skater who relies on positional awareness for defensive assignments, while Evans is a much better skater who relies on his speed to forecheck, shadow and disrupt plays. He’s one of the few centers in the league that is capable of actually keeping up with McDavid and for the most part shutting him down. Dvorak can slot in as 2C in a pinch and do alright, not so much for Evans. However, Evans cap hit is approx 1/3rd of Dvorak’s, 1.7 mil to Dvorak’s 4.45 mil/year. All said and done, it’s hard to say get rid of one over the other. Evans is attractive due to what you get for the lower cap hit, Dvorak is attractive for being more versatile. To be honest, I’d rather keep both for at least another year, both are good vets to have around the younger players, and we all know injuries are going to rear their ugly head at some point – not to mention these two are our best face off guys. If both remain healthy, I think you have Suzuki 1C, Dvorak 3C and Evans 4C this coming season, and the 2C slot is where you play around with Dach or Newhouse if the coaching staff want to see him there. Let the Beck’s of our system marinate where they are for another year, no need to rush them at this point in the rebuild.
It’s Hoffman and Armia that are the priority to dump IMHO.
I mean, duh