Devils Acquire Evangelista From Predators in Draft Pick Trade

The New Jersey Devils acquired forward Luke Evangelista from the Nashville Predators on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, in a trade that sends a conditional first-round pick and a second-round selection in the 2028 NHL Entry Draft to Nashville. The deal was announced by both teams as the league's offseason continues ahead of training camps. Evangelista, 24, is coming off a career-best season in which he recorded 12 goals and 44 assists for 56 points in 81 games with the Predators. He has one year remaining on his contract with a salary cap hit of $3 million and is set to become a restricted free agent next summer. The Toronto native was a second-round pick, 42nd overall, in the 2020 NHL Draft and has accumulated 143 points in 259 regular-season and playoff games over parts of four NHL seasons. "We know Luke is a good, young player who has endeared himself to our fans, so this decision was not made lightly," Predators general manager Chris MacFarland said in a statement. "At the same time, we've explored all possibilities in pursuit of making our team better moving forward.