Maple Leafs Trade Option Officially Signs Extension with Divisional Rival
The trade deadline news is heating up, and a top Toronto Maple Leafs trade target has been officially taken off the market.
If the Toronto Maple Leafs wanted to get themselves a cheap but reliable 3C for their lineup, they will have to look elsewhere than Jake Evans. Linked to the forward for several weeks, it seems like they won't be able to scoop him up.
It was announced on Tuesday afternoon that Evans had re-signed an extension with the Montreal Canadiens and is officially taken off the market. The news was broken by NHL Insider Pierre LeBrun.
Evans, 28, has 12 goals and 16 assists in 61 games for the Canadiens this season.
Toronto Maple Leafs Miss Out Again
This takes away a very solid trade target for the Maple Leafs as the team has already lost out on Boston's Trent Frederic, and now Evans.
Though it's not unsurprising as it's a rarity that the Habs and Leafs come together to make a deal, and Montreal clearly wasn't impressed with not only Toronto's offer, but those of other teams as well.
Evans will likely continue to be their Swiss army knife in the lineup, as he can bounce between lines depending on head coach Martin St. Louis' needs.
So Toronto needs to shift gears once again and find a suitable option for their team. It's going to be tough to find a center especially with Evans off the market but there are still names like Nick Bjugstad available.
It's still going to cost the Maple Leafs a bit in terms of their picks, although they are staying away from trading their 2026 1st rounder and they will certainly not be budging on Easton Cowan or Fraser Minten.
This might not be the only move the Canadiens make though either, as they can still deal names like Christian Dvorak and David Savard ahead of the deadline if they want to switch things up and save some money.
For now though, Evans is off the market for anyone and it'll be this time next year when we could potentially bring him up again; especially if Montreal is in a worse spot than they already are.
