There hasn’tbeen much action on the trade market of late in the NHL, but on Tuesdaynight, the Nashville Predators sent forward Luke Evangelista to the New JerseyDevils for a conditional Colorado Avalanche first-round pick in 2028 and theirown second-round pick in 2028.
Lastseason, Evangelista put up 56 points in 81 games, and unsurprisingly, some arewondering whether the Montreal Canadiens missed the boat by not acquiring the24-year-old right-shot right winger. Of course, Evangelista is a promisingyoung player, but he’s not what the Canadiens need right now
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He’s 6-foot and 183 pounds and had a grand total of 21 hits last season. The Canadiens havegot plenty of skill and talent up front. What they lack is a talented player whocan bring physicality to their top six, a second-line center, perhaps more gritin the bottom six as well, and an experienced right-shot defenseman. Evangelistadoes not fit any of those bills.
TheCanadiens front office made it clear in one of its last media availabilities:they are done acquiring talent just to see if it could work. The Canadiens areno longer in a simple asset accumulation stage; their rebuild has progressed.They are pleased with what they have put together, and now they need to acquirethe missing pieces, those that fit the needs they have identified.
Yes, theCanadiens would have had the draft capital needed to pry Evangelista away fromNashville, but it wouldn’t have made sense to use their assets to acquire him.It’s clear that Hughes has been working the phones a lot this offseason, tryingto strike a big deal, and he hasn’t given up hope. That draft capital could beinstrumental in the Habs striking a major deal, one that would bring ahigher-profile player to Montreal. There’s no guarantee that it will happen,but saving those assets for a bigger deal just makes sense.
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