Montreal has lost eight of its last ten games leading up to the 4 Nations break, narrowing their chances of making the playoffs. The Canadiens enter the hiatus with a 25-26-5 record and 55 points, six behind the Detroit Red Wings for the second wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference.

Jake Evans is a UFA after this season. Now, with the Four Nations event about to begin, this gives the player and the Montreal Canadiens 13 days of negotiating during this break in the NHL season. According to Pierre LeBrun,

Pierre LeBrun from TSN revealed that negotiations between Jake Evans and the Canadiens are not progressing. After the game against the Lightning, Evans spoke about his time with the Canadiens in the past tense,