Following a statement win against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans voiced a very strong message to every team in the NHL.

Jake Evans scored the game-winning goal with 2:15 remaining in regulation to lift the Montreal Canadiens past the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Tuesday night.

The Montreal Canadiens face a difficult decision regarding forward Jake Evans, with conflicting reports adding intrigue to his future ahead of the March 7 trade deadline. NHL insider Pierre LeBrun revealed Wednesday that Montreal is interested in keeping Evans but isn’t committing to a long-term deal,

Since the beginning of the season, we have been singing the praises of Jake Evans. And for good reason. Clearly, the center player for the Canadiens has chosen the right season (a few months before full autonomy) to reach another level as a player for the Canadiens.

Let’s talk about the trade market. The Jake Evans file is probably the most important for Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton. After all, he is the best player of the CH this season among the unrestricted free agents of the club for the summer of 2025.

At 28 years old, Jake Evans is having the best season of his career. He is on pace for over 45 points, and it is also the last year of his contract with the Canadiens. Now, Kent Hughes has to make an important decision regarding his center.

Evans produced an assist in Sunday's 5-4 overtime win over the Rangers.

Jake Evans has been producing at an impressive pace since the start of the season. With his 23 points, the center is the fourth leading scorer for the Canadiens behind Lane Hutson, Cole Caufield, and Nick Suzuki.

Jake Evans scored the game-winning goal with 2:15 remaining in regulation to lift the Montreal Canadiens past the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Nikita Kucherov and Jake Guentzel scored for Tampa Bay, which opened a four-game road trip with a 5-3 loss to Toronto on Monday.

And then there was the play of goalie Sam Montembeault. Montembeault denied numerous Grade-A scoring chances to keep the Lightning stuck at two goals. In the third period alone, he stopped 14 shots. His play neutralized the Lightning’s territorial edge.