MONTREAL — This was a big miss.
It was a big miss made up of many small misses, like the ones that defined Sunday’s 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It was a big miss that will considerably alter the Montreal Canadiens, and they have no choice but to face that reality now.
Three weeks ago, the Canadiens were staring at a golden opportunity to avoid that reality altogether. They had the chance to strengthen their hold on a playoff spot with nine games to go before a much-needed break for the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off.
But the Canadiens did nothing but loosen that grip in losing eight of those nine games, and they know they’ve probably lost more than just ground in the standings as a result.
Martin St. Louis didn’t want to acknowledge it, saying after Sunday’s loss he’d avoid thinking about anything beyond his control over the break. Mike Matheson echoed those thoughts, saying it would do him and his teammates no good to think about it.
But Jake Evans didn’t turn away from it.
He spent most of Sunday’s game up on the top line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, and he finished it contemplating whether or not it was his last one in the only uniform he’s ever worn at this level.
“It’s been an honour,” the 28-year-old said. “It’s such a fun place to play, it’s such a great place to live, and I’ve just really enjoyed it. It’s truly an honour. There’s so much tradition here, so many great players that have worn this great jersey with pride, and it’s truly an honour.”
But Evans knows that, with six games to go to the trade deadline, the Canadiens have dipped back below .500 and are six points out of a wild-card spot and 11 points behind the Lightning for third in the Atlantic Division. He knows that the teams they’re chasing have games in hand on them, and he definitely knows that teams in the position his team is in move on from players on expiring contracts.
They especially move on from ones like Evans, who holds a certain value to the Canadiens but an even bigger one to a Stanley Cup contender.
The six-foot, 190-pound centre is more than halfway through his best season ever — just two goals and two points from tying career highs in both categories despite mainly defensive deployment — and that’s opening the door to him becoming richer than the Canadiens would want to make him, which in turn is making them open up the window to being paid a premium to let him go.
It might have been different had Josh Anderson scored on that first-period penalty shot or had Jakub Dobes stopped one of three shots that got by him before being pulled, or had Arber Xhekaj properly checked Zemgus Girgensons on Tampa’s fourth goal, or had Caufield not missed the net with just a few seconds remaining in Sunday’s loss.
But it didn’t go that way, and that was just a sample of how this segment didn’t go how the Canadiens hoped it would.
Now there will be change.
David Savard is priced to move — on an expiring contract worth just $3.5 million in a market virtually barren of steady, right-handed defencemen with penchants for killing penalties and blocking shots — and replacements Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher are waiting in the wings. Christian Dvorak is all but guaranteed to go — even if the Canadiens have to retain salary to account for him making more in actual dollars ($5.75 million) than he counts for on the cap ($4.45 million) — and Owen Beck has shown over the last week that he will do more than supplant what he brings.
Joel Armia, who will suit up for Finland at 4 Nations, will likely be shipping off to a playoff-bound team and replaced by a young winger currently flourishing with the Laval Rocket. And even if there may not be anyone to take over from Evans just yet, that won’t keep the Canadiens from making him their biggest trade chip.
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Brendan Gallagher, who had two goals in Sunday’s game, understands why.
The 12-year veteran knows he might have to say goodbye to one of his closest friends on the team after the Canadiens whiffed on giving management incentive to play things differently.
“It’s been really fun to watch Jakey grow up in this organization,” said Gallagher. “You can see how he’s confident in his game. He’s really embraced the role that he has here and he’s done it very effectively. We’ve used him in so many different situations throughout a game, and we’re good friends off the ice as well. You hope he’s a part of this team moving forward, you never know. I’ve been through it both ways, and it’s the toughest part of this sport. But as for what he’s done for our group, we rely on him more and more every year and he’s handled it very effectively and he deserves to be in the position he’s in.”
The salary cap is rising exponentially, and Evans will cash in.
He hasn’t missed on taking advantage of his opportunity, but the Canadiens missed big on the one they had in the lead up to this break.
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