MacFarland Discusses Evangelista Trade, Looks Ahead to Future With New Season Approaching

Exactly one month away from Opening Night in Nashville, Chris MacFarland made quite a move with a new season on the horizon. 

On Tuesday night, the President of Hockey Operations and General Manager of the Predators dealt winger Luke Evangelista to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Colorado’s 2028 first-round pick (conditional) and New Jersey’s 2028 second-round pick from the Devils. 

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.

“Anytime you trade a good player that's got a lot of cachet and been a part of an organization for a few years, and is a dang good person that's done a good job here and played good hockey for the Preds for the last number of years, it's just the tough part of the business,” MacFarland said. “We wish Luke the very, very best as he embarks on a new journey for himself with the Devils.”

A trade MacFarland called one of “the toughest ones…sometimes that you feel you have to do,” the transaction sees one of Nashville’s most popular players sent away for a pair of draft picks. 

And while the deal wasn’t necessarily an easy one to make, it’s a trade MacFarland believes could someday be of great benefit to his club. 

"We felt with the...depth of our winger prospects, we feel we're very forward heavy, and...we've got a lot of good, young wingers that are going to wear our colors over the next few years,” MacFarland said. “And one of, I think, the challenges that we ran into this summer, and in trying to improve other positional silos, was we just didn't have the right mix of darts to throw, and I think that that was certainly a part of the rationale. We think Luke is a good player, he's a proven player...but we're very happy with the return.”

That return could allow the Preds to make further deals down the line, and while MacFarland acknowledged he doesn’t have another trade lined up at this juncture, that doesn’t mean he won’t be able to use those picks in due time. 

“What I do think [this trade has] given us is [additional pieces to offer] that we didn't have yesterday, that we can potentially now be involved in, whether it's next week, two months from now, or three months from now,” MacFarland said. “Again, our goal is to try and build something that can have sustained success, and right now, we think while the roster is improved, it’s still got a long way to go in certain silos for us to get it going to where we want it to get to. So, I think this arms us with the draft-pick darts high in the draft that are going to be potentially attractive in a lot of different ways. But when that will be, we don't know.”

In the meantime, MacFarland remains high on the potential of the young players in Nashville’s system who could soon challenge for an NHL roster spot - and while that wasn’t the impetus for the trade, another player could benefit from added opportunity. 

“Luke Evangelista is an NHL player who had been a Pred here for the last number of years, and…the decision was made [to trade] for the picks, obviously, and there's a lot of different ways we can go with that, but I think the guys should be excited,” MacFarland said. “If there's a way we can still improve the team, we'll look to do that, but I think…some of the young forwards that we were as excited about yesterday when Luke was here, we're equally as excited today to have them getting ready to come into camp and battle for a spot.”

With Training Camp set to open in just over two weeks, MacFarland is ready to observe his NHL group on the ice for the first time in his new role. Tuesday’s trade certainly adds a different look to the forward corps, but who claims that vacant spot is something the GM is eager to see. 

“Our group remains excited, and with some of the other moves that we've made this summer, we think our forward group is deeper than what it was at this time last year,” MacFarland said. “Now, we’re armed with opportunities for some of these young guys to come in and be hungry to grab a spot while also filling the coffers with draft-pick capital, so that we're ready to pounce on the next opportunity when it presents itself.”

For now, the focus is on the future, and while the Preds are certainly appreciative of Evangelista’s contributions in recent seasons, the excitement remains for what’s in the process of being built. 

And while MacFarland is understandably optimistic about his group with camp on the horizon, he knows the only way to find out what his team is really capable of is to see them in action. 

He won’t have to wait much longer. 

“For us, the real information is going to come when we start playing real games for two points in late September and October, and the players will have to get it done on the ice,” MacFarland said. “That’s going to be the telltale for us, but we’re excited about some of the players we added. I know the group is excited, and obviously anytime you take a player off the roster…it’s going to excite some guys, too, that are now looking at it like there's a spot to be won, and that sort of thing. So, as a management group, we feel good. But, I think if you asked every other team in the League moving into camp, you kind of always feel good, and your expectations are just that - expectations. You have to get it done on the ice.”