Tuesday Habs Headlines: A Jake Evans contract extension remains a real possibility

Montreal Canadiens news and notes

• Renaud Lavoie stands by his report made weeks ago that the Canadiens and Jake Evans are most likely to agree on a contract extension. [TVA Sports]
• The Canadiens could net a substantial return by trading Evans and Joel Armia as a packaged duo, one NHL executive believes. [The Athletic]
• Modern rebuilds tend to take longer than the Canadiens hoped theirs would. [La Presse]
• No player had a better expected-goal share than Owen Beck during his four-game stint. [RDS]
• What do Habs players think about when they’re not thinking about hockey? [Canadiens.com]
• Jon Cooper says the goalie who begins Canada’s first game of the 4 Nations is likely to be the one who starts all of the games of the short tournament. [La Presse]
• Lane Hutson and Macklin Celebrini inspired Boston University to an upset of Jacob Fowler’s Boston College to win the Beanpot:

Lane Hutson was absolutely hyped up before the BU vs BC Beanpot championship game 😅

[image or embed]

— /r/Habs (@habsonreddit.bsky.social) February 10, 2025 at 10:10 PM

• Filip Eriksson has received the chance to turn his season around with a loan to HockeyAllsvenskan’s Djurgården:

#Habs prospect Filip Eriksson has been loaned out to Djurgården in HockeyAllsvenskan. Djurgården is currently second in the standings and are looking for a promotion to the SHL. Eriksson has struggled in Växjö, as the team has played poorly in general. Good restart for the Montreal prospect.

— Patrik Bexell (@zebhabs.bsky.social) February 10, 2025 at 3:34 PM

• “As a team, it’s also easier to play when you know that your fourth, fifth, or sixth defenceman is capable of doing the job and that your third and fourth lines are effective,” Montreal Victoire assistant coach Eric Houde explains as to why the club is set up better than last year’s squad. [La Presse]

Around the league and elsewhere

• Crosby will play for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off. [NHL.com]
• The four finalized rosters. [Sportsnet]
• While many of the players believe Team Canada will prove it is still the top hockey power, Crosby says it’s going to take a lot of work to beat some very good opposing nations. [NHL.com]
• There are no questions about who will start Team USA’s games. The crease will belong to Connor Hellebuyck. [NHL.com]
• The Nashville Predators claimed Andreas Englund off waivers. [Daily Faceoff]
• Brandon Hagel, Thatcher Demko, and Matthew Tkachuk were the NHL’s three stars of the week. [NHL.com]
• Loui Eriksson has retired after 16 NHL seasons. [NHL.com]