Jake Evans May Be Perfect Target for Devils Bottom 6
Jake Evans plays a solid all-around game and skates well, making him an ideal trade target for the New Jersey Devils' bottom 6.
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Will the New Jersey Devils make a trade during the nearly two-week-long 4 Nations break? Time will tell, but it serves as an opportunity to talk more in-depth about potential trade targets ahead of the March 7 deadline.
We haven't heard much about direct connections between available players and the Devils, but one is Jake Evans, who Pierre LeBrun reported to be on the team's radar.
The bottom six will likely be the focus of general manager Tom Fitzgerald's deadline, as it's in dire straits. Let's look at why Evans could be an ideal fit.
Evans Adds Elements Devils Bottom 6 Doesn't Have
The Montreal Canadiens are not a particularly great team, but they do have some talent, with one of those players being Evans. He has 11 goals and 27 points in 56 games at the break — a 16-goal, 40-point pace over 82 games.
I'd be wary about Evans' goal-scoring capability since he's shooting 19.6 percent. That number was as high as 28 percent just a few weeks ago, so he's already regressing. He's not a high-volume shooter, with just 56 shots on goal in 56 games.
Still, there's a pretty good player here. One thing Evans does well is moving the puck in transition. He ranked in the 84th percentile in zone entries last season and 41st in zone exits.
Part of the Devils' bottom-six struggles is they don't have a center who can transition the puck. Erik Haula has never been great in transition, and it's gotten even worse this season. Curtis Lazar is not a natural center and has struggled there, too.
Evans is also an excellent skater, ranking in the 93rd percentile in top skating speed and 91st percentile in speed bursts over 20 mph, per NHL EDGE. The Devils' bottom six is generally quite slow, so adding Evans' skating ability should help.
Offensively, Evans is more of a playmaker. The Devils could use a finisher in their bottom six, but having someone who can create more offense should be helpful. I imagine someone like Dawson Mercer would benefit from having a center like Evans on his line since Evans can skate and create offense.
Another of Evans' strengths is his ability in the faceoff dot; he's won over 52 percent of his faceoffs this season. Faceoffs are generally overrated in the grand scheme of things, but they matter in certain situations.
You know it matters to the team, too, and we saw how much the Devils struggled in the dot before the break without Nico Hischier in the lineup. I'm sure that's also one reason they have their eyes on Evans.
Overall, Evans' impacts look solid this season despite the Canadiens being one of the weakest five-on-five teams in the NHL:
It should not cost too much to acquire Evans, even though he's having a career year. Players like him generally seem to go for a second-round pick and another asset (perhaps a fourth-round pick) around the trade deadline.
The Devils have the assets to acquire him, and his $1.7 million cap hit means they should need minimal retention to acquire him, if any.
Why Evans Is a Fit
There's no sugarcoating it. The Devils' bottom six is a black hole. Paul Cotter has been the most consistent of the team's bottom-six forwards, while Mercer has had his moments, but it's been tough sledding otherwise.
Stefan Noesen is having a career year, but he's been in the top six for most of the season. The Devils did not sign him to be a top-six winger, so that's hurt the bottom six since he's generally played up the lineup.
That's why Evans could provide a significant boost. For how the Devils' bottom six is constructed, I see him slotting into a third-line role and pushing Haula down the lineup to the fourth line.
That should have a trickle-down effect and help improve a dire bottom six. The Devils would suddenly have a center group of Jack Hughes, Hischier, Evans and Haula. That's much improved compared to what they've iced most of this season.
It also pushes Lazar to the wing, which is his natural position. A fourth line of Tomáš Tatar, Haula and Lazar looks much better than what the Devils have iced there for most of the season, too.
Let's say the Devils also acquire a middle-six winger, pushing Ondřej Palát down a line. A third unit of Palát, Evans and Mercer is miles better than what the Devils have had on their third line most of this season.
The bottom line is the Devils' bottom six is not playoff-caliber right now. I'd argue they need to revamp the entire unit or close to it, but that will have to wait until the offseason. You can't do it all at the trade deadline.
The Devils have struggled at five-on-five since the Christmas break, and the bottom-six struggles are part of the reason. Evans wouldn't solve its issues, but he would be a massive improvement to what the team currently has.
For now, acquiring Evans and perhaps another winger would go a long way in helping the Devils' bottom six. That unit would no longer be a major concern, and Evans would be a good starting point in helping the team upgrade its forward group.
Microstats from Corey Sznajder/JFresh Hockey, NHL EDGE