Phillip Danault: Kings reportedly asking Canadiens for Jake Evans

There are only a few hours left before the NHL freeze. As a result, we're currently in the final stages of the Phillip Danault rumors, with the Kings having asked to trade him.

And the word on the street right now is that the Habs are the favorite team in the deal.

What wasn't clear was the price to be paid for Kent Hughes. Last night, Renaud Lavoie mentioned that the player in question was a center who was in the lineup yesterday… so the names of Oliver Kapanen, Jake Evans, and Owen Beck were getting a lot of attention.

And in the last few minutes of the JiC show, Jean-Charles Lajoie revealed that he'd heard from two sources that the player the Kings would be targeting is Jake Evans.

The host even noted that there's quite a bit of nervousness in the Evans clan right now.

What JiC notes is that the Habs would rather give Beck to the Kings. But the host also noted that in the last few hours, negotiations between the Habs and Kings have been intense… and it's safe to assume that Evans is the player in the talks.

And if he really is the player the Kings have in their sights, he left quite an impression on the Kings' scout who was at the Bell Centre last night.

Even though Jake Evans wasn't on the scoresheet tonight, the #Habs center had himself a game in the faceoff dot going 15-2 for an 88% faceoff win percentage!

– Priyanta Emrith (@HabsInHighHeels) December 19, 2025

This season, Danault has no goals and five points in 30 games, while earning $5.5 million per year until the end of next season. Evans, on the other hand, is in the first year of a four-year contract that pays him $2.85 million a year, with five goals and 10 points in 33 games this season.

We know that Evans really didn't want to leave last year, so he left quite a bit of money on the table. Would it be a good idea to trade him less than a year after signing that contract, especially with Evans a new father of twins? Find out in the coming hours…

Dad Jake Evans, his wife Emily, and their little twin babies pic.twitter.com/DmwQDT894U

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) November 30, 2025

Extension

It's also worth remembering that Evans was a project of Marc Bergevin's when he was GM of the Habs, so there's a familiarity between the two men.

Did Bergevin have any say in the matter? The question arises.