If nothing else, you should be grateful to Jake Evans for these three reasons.

When we think about Jake Evans, we don’t envision the eighth wonder of the world. We envision a support player who can generate offense when necessary and can be deployed in a variety of ways. But maybe it’s time to show him some more love.

Jake Evans has established himself as one of the NHL’s top support players, and it’s not hard to see why. He has won (just over) half of his face-offs over the last two years, leading the league in shorthanded minutes played last season, and possesses traits that will benefit Martin St-Louis’ lineup. And when you consider that he’s getting paid an average of $1.7 million per season.

Jake Evans was the most-used PK in the NHL the previous season for two reasons. In 24–25, the Habs lacked discipline much too often. Evans was mostly used because Martin St-Louis has a lot of faith in him.

Evans is a key member of the Montreal lineup, and the Habs coach is aware that starting him on the ice won’t get him into any problems. Despite this, Evans is a strong defender who still has some offensive ability—he has 28 points in 82 games. That’s a significant output for a player of his caliber.

All of this is to suggest that Jake Evans plays his part brilliantly without creating too much noise. Additionally, he should be given attention because he has worked hard to achieve his goals.