The New Jersey Devils announced today that the team has acquired forward Luke Evangelista in a trade with Nashville in exchange for Colorado’s 2028 first-round pick (conditional) and New Jersey’s 2028 second-round pick. The announcement was made by General Manager Sunny Mehta.
The conditions are as follows: in the event that either a) Colorado’s 2027 first-round pick is not transferred to Toronto; or b) Colorado’s 2028 first-round pick falls within the top 10, Nashville shall instead receive Colorado’s 2029 first-round pick.
Evangelista, 24, is entering the final season of a two-year contract worth $6,000,000 ($3,000,000 AAV) and recently completed his fourth NHL season with Nashville. The 6’0”, 185lbs. right wing played in a career-high 81 games last season and tallied a career-high 44 assists and 56 points. Sixteen of his assists were earned on the power play, which ranked second on Nashville behind defenseman Roman Josi. Evangelista hit a couple of milestones last season, including playing in his 200th career NHL game on Dec. 9, 2025, vs Colorado and earning his 100th career point (goal) on Nov. 28, 2025, at Chicago. Additionally, Evangelista’s five-game point streak (2g-6a) from Nov. 24 to Dec. 2 marked a career-high stretch.
Evangelista has recorded 142 career points (45g-97a) in 253 regular-season games since he made his NHL debut with Nashville on Feb. 28, 2023. He scored one goal in six games for the Predators during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
He made his professional debut in the American Hockey League (AHL) with Chicago in 2020-21 and experienced a brief stint with Nashville’s AHL affiliate in Milwaukee during the 2022-23 season. Evangelista scored 45 points (9g-36a) in 63 career AHL contests.
Born in Toronto, Ontario, on Feb. 21, 2022, Nashville selected Evangelista with the 42nd overall pick, in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft. Before his professional experience, he played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for London, from 2018-19 to 2021-22, and was named captain for his final OHL season. Evangelista totaled 174 career points (78g-96a) in 151 games in the OHL, and his 111 points (55g-56a) ranked first for all London skaters in 2021-22. His 55 goals in 2021-22 ranked first for all OHL skaters, while his 111 points ranked fourth. Evangelista is a second cousin to former Devil and three-time Stanley Cup champion Brendan Shanahan.
