Jake Evans: Joël Bouchard was already looking for a new tenant for his apartment

Evans and his girlfriend have been renting an apartment owned by Joël Bouchard for some time now. There were so few negotiations between the Canadiens and Evans’ camp that Joël Bouchard was in “renting his apartment to someone else” mode.

And Evans was already preparing (reluctantly) for his potential move…

This shows how much of a surprise Evans’ signing was for many people yesterday. And how much Kent Hughes comes out on top in his negotiations with Evans’ camp.

He stayed firm on his positions and managed to sign Jake Evans to a salary that doesn’t take into account the significant and expected increases in the salary cap.

Does this mean Jake Evans won’t be leaving the apartment he’s currently occupying?

Let’s just say he’ll be staying there for at least a few more months than if he had left the team this week.

Except that not all millionaires necessarily want to be owners, you know. Having responsibilities, paying the welcome tax, having to resell in a few years because you don’t plan on staying here in retirement…

Sometimes, accepting a $2,500 per month rent – that’s it – has its charm and advantages.

Extension

– We have to give credit to Renaud Lavoie, who never stopped believing in a new contract for Jake Evans in Montreal.

– Evans may have left money on the table, but he’ll still earn over $11 million in the next four years. Not bad for a seventh-round pick…

He’s not to be pitied.

– Jake Evans won’t have a no-trade clause in his new contract. The real master of the art of the deal isn’t Donald Trump, it’s Kent Hughes.

– After consistently filling the net, Jake Evans has only scored two goals in his last 25 games, including one into an empty net. The Law of Numbers always catches up with mathematical irregularities in the long run. Evans was hitting the target on about three out of ten shots. It was impossible to maintain.

– If Kent Hughes had traded Evans, it would have looked like he was abandoning his players. If he had kept him without offering a new contract, it would have been said that the Canadiens lost an important asset (a second-round pick or an unacquired prospect in return). No one is saying anything negative now.

– Cole Caufield will have at least one of his good friends in Montreal for the next few seasons. Remains to be seen what the Canadiens will decide to do with Christian Dvorak…

I don’t see what chair they could give to Dvorak, though. Evans and Dvorak were both candidates for the fourth-center spot in 2025-26.

– Looking forward to seeing what the Canadiens will do with Joel Armia…

– It’s always an advantage to be paid in USD but live in CAD…

– I invite you to watch episode 26 of Stanley25 to hear things about Amazon, RDS, TSN, Kirby Dach, David Reinbacher, Joshua Roy, Logan Mailloux, Lane Hutson, Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, TVA Sports, Ivan Demidov, Alex Ovechkin, and Wayne Gretzky. Enjoy the show!