Canadiens Trade Talk: Potential NHL Returns For Evans And Armia

The NHL Trade Deadline is less than a week away, resulting in an uptick in interest for at least one Montreal Canadiens player.

As we previously discussed, general manager Kent Hughes may have an opportunity to package Jake Evans and Joel Armia, offering an ideal trade solution for playoff teams worried about their penalty kill. We surmised organizations such as the Edmonton Oilers, Detroit Red Wings, and Minnesota Wild are among the worst penalty killing clubs in the league, thus making them obvious targets for a potential deal including both Evans and Armia.

ON TOPIC: Montreal Canadiens Trade Talk – Top 3 Teams That Could Use Evans And Armia

There is an important caveat in the ongoing Evans trade talk. The Habs aren’t in any rush to move him, and they won’t accept a mediocre offer, as it won’t move the needle for a team that already has an overabundance of prospects and draft picks.

In other words, a third-round pick and a B-level prospect won’t entice the Canadiens to move their dynamic penalty killing duo.

Pierre LeBrun confirmed that there are several  interested parties, which should drive the price up to a certain extent, but we also have to be mindful of the sales pitch from Hughes. He’s clearly trying to drive the price up, and more power to him, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll receive a rich offer.

He’s not the first general manager who has used the ‘serious offers only’ strategy.

How many times have we heard a general manager ask for a first-round pick, a young NHL roster player, and a top prospect? At least five times per year, but that deal rarely materializes.

With that in mind, LeBrun suggested the Wild, the Oilers, the New Jersey Devils, The Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Winnipeg Jets have inquired about a potential Evans and Armia trade.

Pierre LeBrun on RDS says that Kent Hughes is telling NHL teams that they already have many draft picks & they won’t trade Jake Evans & Joel Armia just because they’re both upcoming UFAs. He wants serious trade offers or he’s willing to keep them on the Habs.

Among the… pic.twitter.com/DQFOAK9lcA

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) February 27, 2025

Montreal Canadiens Potential Returns

The Jets have a lot going for them, including the best goaltender in the league, making their interest in Evans and Armia logical. That being said, I genuinely have a hard time picturing Evans playing on the same team as Mark Scheifele, the player who was suspended for four games in the 2021 playoffs after his dangerous hit on No.71.

Scheifele did apologize to Evans, eventually, via text, but I’d wager there’s still some bad blood in play. Seeing as Hughes values the respect he commands from players, I have a hard time projecting any type framework that would lead to a trade with the Jets. To be perfectly clear, Evans has said he has moved on, and they’re all professionals, connoting there’s a risk I’m reading the situation wrong.

It’s also worth mentioning the Jets aren’t in desperate need to improve their 14th ranked penalty kill, but if they do decide to reinforce their special teams, they could use their 2025 first-round pick to entice the Canadiens. In reality, it would be closer to a second-round pick, as the Jets are currently the top team in the NHL.

The Leafs also have a middling penalty kill (16th), and there’s definitely pressure to produce a healthy playoff run in the Big Smoke. The Canadiens and the Leafs haven’t always had the best relationship, but now that there’s new management in place for both clubs, a certain level of trust has been re-established.

Toronto does not own a first-round pick in 2025, but they do have enough draft capital to offer a decent return if they’re willing to dip into their picks set for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.

Unfortunately, Toronto has one of the weakest prospect pools in the NHL, which is perfectly normal given their situation.

Easton Cowan is one of the most entertaining players in any prospect pool, and he’d be a welcome addition to the many talented young players in the Canadiens organization, but I have a very hard time picturing Toronto trading one of their only prospects with legitimate NHL potential. That leaves Fraser Minten as one of the few interesting prospects owned by the Leafs, not to mention defenceman Topi Niemela, but I don’t see either moving the needle on a team that needs more elite talent, rather than just depth options.

The Edmonton Oilers also traded away their 2025 first-round pick, and just like the Leafs, their draft position will be in the second-half of every round, significantly mitigating their value on the NHL’s Trade Market.

The parallels with Toronto do not end there.

Edmonton has a very weak prospect pool, with centre Sam O’Reilly arguably serving as the most productive player in the system, alongside Matthew Savoie. Again, I’m not sure if they’re interested in moving their best prospects, but either player could end up being an intriguing return should the Oilers decide they are serious about securing a Stanley Cup.

As it stands, the Oilers are ranked 26th in penalty killing, a clear red flag that could torpedo their Stanley Cup aspirations. There’s also pressure to perform seeing as they’ve already squandered some of 28-year-old Connor McDavid’s best years.

Great individual effort by Jake Evans to score a shorthanded goal and make it 5-2 #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/a9V9ZuV1eD

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) April 3, 2024

American Interest In Montreal Canadiens Players

I’m a little confused as to why the Devils are involved in the discussions, since they have the third-best penalty killing in the league. On that note, Montreal and New Jersey have made good trade partners in the past, including the deals that saw Jake Allen and Johnathan Kovacevic join the Devils. New Jersey is looking at improving their 5v5 depth options more than anything.

When I spoke to the good people over at New Jersey Hockey Now, it was mentioned that Evans could serve as their third-line centre. That’s a little above his pay grade, but it goes to show there’s more value to Evans than just his penalty killing prowess.

To make matters more complicated, the Devils do not own a first-round pick in 2025, but they do have three second-round picks. Perhaps a trade package that includes picks, as well as a somewhat interesting forward prospect such as Lenni Hameenaho could garner a little interest from Montreal, but we’re delving back into the ‘sum-of-the-parts’ trade that Hughes is clearly trying to avoid.

Forget about acquiring a top prospect from the Devils. Evans and Armia alone will not be enough to pry Anton Silayev or Seamus Casey from the organization.

That brings us to the most logical trade partner for a potential deal.

Not only do the Wild have plenty of cap space, with more to come in the following years, they’re also enjoying a surprisingly good season, as evidenced by the fact that they’re tied with the Oilers for 10th in the NHL.

They have an awful penalty kill. Only the Red Wings (70 percent) are lower than the Wild (70.9 percent) among all NHL teams.

It’s also a hot topic in Minnesota at this very moment, adding a little pressure to the mix.

It’s a no-brainer for Guerin to go after an Armia/Evans PK tag-team at this point. Like enough is enough with this penalty kill.

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) February 28, 2025

Even without prior knowledge the Wild were interested in Evans and Armia, it was quite clear they could serve as a good trade partner for the Canadiens.

They don’t own a 2025 first-round pick, but they do have a bevy of talented players in their prospect pool. You could even argue Minnesota’s prospect pool is equal to Montreal’s, if not a little better, but that’s a topic for another day.

Zeev Buium is probably untouchable, and Danila Yurov will likely cost a little more than just Evans and Armia, but the Canadiens do have the assets to compensate for any discrepancy in value. The Habs also have a healthy amount of cap space, which means they can absorb expiring contracts to facilitate a trade.

Of course, I’m looking at this from a Montreal Canadiens point of view. Wild fans could look at the idea of moving someone like Yurov as ridiculous, but we have to remember the factors in play.

Minnesota is the interested party, the Canadiens have plenty of suitors, it seems to a seller’s market, and the March 7 Trade Deadline is looming overhead. A player such as Marat Khusnutdinov, for example, won’t come close to enticing the Habs.

Simply put, the Montreal Canadiens hold all the cards.

We’re exactly one week out from the NHL’s trade deadline — next Friday at 3 p.m. ET — and the chatter remains much quieter than usual. One hurdle is how few teams are truly open for business and ready to sell. But, there’s still time for the action to pick up.

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) February 28, 2025