The Nashville Predators traded right winger Luke Evangelista of Toronto, Ontario to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday according to Justin Tasch of the New York Post. In exchange, the Predators received a conditional first round pick in the 2028 National Hockey League Entry Draft and a second round pick in the 2028 NHL Entry Draft.
The conditions are rather confusing. They depend on if Colorado’s first round pick is not transferred to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2027 or if Colorado’s first round pick is in the top 10 in the 2028 NHL Entry Draft. If either case happens, Nashville will receive Colorado’s first round pick in the 2029 NHL Entry Draft rather than New Jersey’s first round pick in 2028.
Evangelista is joining his second NHL franchise. He played the last four seasons with the Predators. In 2025-26, Evangelista had 12 goals and 44 assists for 56 points in 81 games. He was a +1 with 28 penalty minutes, 17 power-play points, one game-winning goal, 176 shots on goal, 21 blocked shots, 21 hits, 25 takeaways and 58 giveaways. Evangelista’s game-winning goal this past season came on March 24 in a 6-3 Predators win over the San Jose Sharks. Evangelista scored from Ryan O’Reilly of Clinton, Ontario and Brady Skjei at 12;26 of the first period. At the time, the Predators went up 4-1.
