Devils Land Evangelista in Trade with Predators

The New Jersey Devils have acquired forward Luke Evangelista from the Nashville Predators, with the teams announcing the deal on Tuesday. New Jersey sent a conditional first-round pick and its own second-round selection in the 2028 NHL Draft to Nashville in exchange for the 24-year-old winger.

The conditional first-round pick originally belonged to the Colorado Avalanche, with the condition tied to the Avalanche's 2027 pick transfer to Toronto. If that condition is not met or the 2028 pick falls in the top 10, Nashville would instead receive Colorado's 2029 first-round pick.

Evangelista comes off a breakout season with Nashville, setting career highs in goals (12), assists (44), and points (56) while playing all 81 games. He is entering the second year of a two-year, $6 million contract with a $3 million annual cap hit, and he is set to become a restricted free agent after this season.

Predators general manager Chris MacFarland commented on the trade, saying the decision was not made lightly and that the deal provides flexibility to improve the roster while creating opportunities for young wingers. Evangelista has recorded 143 points in 259 career regular-season and playoff games.

The move is the latest by Devils first-year general manager Sunny Mehta, who took over in mid-April after serving as an assistant with the Florida Panthers. New Jersey averaged 2.76 goals per game last season, the sixth-fewest in the NHL, and finished 12 points out of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. The Devils have already added forwards Anthony Mantha and Evan Rodrigues this offseason.

For Nashville, the trade continues a busy offseason under MacFarland, who became GM and team president in early June. The Predators have added several Central Division–familiar players, including center Mavrik Bourque, Ross Colton, Jack Drury, Alexander Kerfoot, and Ilya Lybushkin. The club finished four points short of the Western Conference's final wild-card spot last season.