Devils acquire Luke Evangelista from Predators for two draft picks

Let the newsy September chaos commence.

On Tuesday night, the New Jersey Devils acquired forward Luke Evangelista from the Nashville Predators. In exchange, the Predators are receiving a conditional first-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft and a 2028 second-round pick.

While the second-round selection belonged to the Devils, the first-round pick originally belonged to the Colorado Avalanche but was sent to New Jersey as part of the deal that saw Maxim Tsyplakov and Simon Nemec sent to the Calgary Flames back in June. If the Avalanche’s first-round pick in 2027 isn’t transferred to the Toronto Maple Leafs, or the Avs’ first-round pick in 2028 falls within the top 10, the Predators will receive Colorado’s first-round spot in 2029.

Evangelista joins a retooling team in the Garden State that is hungry for more young talent under new general manager Sunny Mehta. The 24-year-old certainly fits that mold. In his first three full seasons in the NHL, he has quietly grown into a solid scorer on the wing and could add some offensive punch to a Devils squad that unquestionably lacks depth up front.

The Toronto native is coming off the best season of his young career. In 81 games, he posted 12 goals and 44 assists for a career-high 56 points. He also posted a plus/minus of +1 while averaging 16:37 of ice time, helping the Preds make an honest push for a playoff spot.

In 253 regular-season games in the NHL, Evangelista has potted 45 goals and 97 assists for 142 points, with one goal during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs with Smashville.

Evangelista is heading into the final season of his two-year contract, which he signed in October 2025. The deal carries a cap hit of $3 million. He’s set to become a restricted free agent next summer, with arbitration rights. The London Knights product was taken by the Predators in the second round, 42nd overall, of the 2020 NHL Draft.