Photo credit: Montreal Canadiens
A transaction completed fairly recently by Kent Hughes and the Montreal Canadiens has indeed just taken an immediate turn for the better.
Jake Evans’ injury has suddenly changed the picture at center, in one swift move.
The Montreal Canadiens have confirmed that Evans will be out for 4 to 6 weeks due to a lower-body injury. We’re talking about a player who was taking a heavy load of faceoffs in important minutes.
When that type of chair is suddenly empty, it’s felt right away in the lineup. That’s exactly why Stu Cowan’s comment is circulating so widely.
“Habs trade for Phillip Danault looking even better now.” – Stu Cowan
He says the trade for Phillip Danault looks even better now, and honestly, it’s hard to argue with that today.
The Habs didn’t replace Evans, but they’ve just given themselves a margin for error that didn’t exist two weeks ago.
The trade completed for Phillip Danault becomes even more important for Kent Hughes and the Montreal Canadiens
Danault, 32, comes in with a simple reality. His contract carries a $5.5M cap hit, and it runs through the end of the 2026-2027 season. This season, his offensive numbers are modest, but the Canadiens didn’t bring him back to be a power-play savior.
Danault can take on a portion of Evans’ workload immediately, without forcing Martin St-Louis to overuse Nick Suzuki or rush a young player at the wrong time.
And on a team that has already dealt with holes down the middle, that kind of insurance is worth its weight in gold when injuries hit.
Previously on Montreal Hockey Fanatics