Canadiens forward Jake Evans did not enjoy a good start to the season.
To be more accurate, Evans struggled mightily, producing poor underlying numbers as well as sparse offensive contributions.
Evans earned just four points at 5v5 in the 32 games leading up to his injury on Jan.14, with all four points coming in the form of assists.
To make matters worse, his puck possession numbers were not great. Or rather, they were flat-out horrible, even when you consider he was playing a difficult role on a bottom-dwelling team.
By The Numbers
There’s something to be said about the value of a player who isn’t scoring but maintains strong defensive numbers. That, unfortunately, was not the case for Evans.
In his first 32 games of the season, Evans controlled just 46 percent of the shots, 30 percent of the goals, 45 percent of the high-danger chances, and 45.5 percent of the expected goals.
But something changed as the Canadiens approached the Christmas break.
The team was losing, which was to be expected, but they were also losing without putting up an honest effort, an inexcusable approach to professional sports.
That’s when Evans took it upon himself to lead by example.
In his final 11 games before the injury, Evans found his rhythm.
Not only did his production go from a paltry 0.66 points per 60 in all situations to a team-leading 2.2 points per 60, but he also produced some of the best underlying numbers on the team.
With Evans on the ice, the Canadiens controlled 49 percent of the shots, 56 percent of the goals, 57 percent of the high-danger chances, as well as 51 percent of the expected goals, a significant improvement over his previous results.
But more importantly, Evans showed the type of resolve and intensity that set the tone for the rest of the team and served as crucial leadership when the team needed it most.
Next Step
With just 11 games left on the docket, Evans has been cleared to play and will have no choice but to pick up where he left off because as it stands, he’s at risk of being lost in the fray.
Several players made the jump from Laval, and for the most part, they’ve enjoyed incredibly successful auditions with the Canadiens.
Not to mention, the Canadiens are in transition as they continue to build toward the future, which means job security is a concept that very few players will enjoy going forward.
It may not feel fair, and you could argue Evans deserves a longer recuperation runway, but there’s no such thing as ‘deserve’ in professional sports.
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