The Nashville Predators traded forward Luke Evangelista to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night. As NHLRumors.com has documented since President of Hockey Ops and GM Chris MacFarland came to Music City, he has been reshaping the team around his vision.
NHL News: New Jersey Devils Acquire Luke Evangelista from Nashville Predators
Throughout the off-season, MacFarland has acquired players like Ross Colton, Jack Drury, Mavrik Bourque, Ilya Lyubushkin, and Nils Hoglander. So he needed to move a forward, as he said in a Tuesday night media availability, given what the Predators have coming in the pipeline.
“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 told the media. “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 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.”
Remember, Luke Evangelista had a lengthy contract negotiation with the Nashville Predators and former GM Barry Trotz. He did not sign his current two-year, $6 million contract with an AAV of $3 million until October 5th. So, given he was eligible for an extension as of this past July 1st, it seems MacFarland didn’t want to go through another contract battle this offseason.
Not to mention, the player may have hesitated to re-up long-term given the tension last time. With the influx of new blood on the roster, he might have felt his role would have been diminished, so signing an extension didn’t make sense. With one-year left on his deal, MacFarland pounced to get the best return possible for Luke Evangelista.
NHL Rumors: Are the Nashville Predators Done Making Moves This Offseason?
Now, the Predaotrs own 11 picks in the 2028 NHL Draft – three in the second round; two in the first and fifth rounds; and one in the third, fourth, sixth and seventh rounds. So given the draft capital and assets they have on the roster, GM Chris MacFarland is not done turning the Nashville Predators roster over.
“We’re ready to pounce on the next opportunity when it presents itself,” MacFarland told the media.
In addition, MacFarland wasn’t ready to announce another trade or subsequent moves given the draft capital he acquired; his goal has remained the same since he took over: build a team that can sustain success for the long term.
“The roster still has a long way to go in certain silos…so this arms us with the draft pick darts that could be attractive in a lot of different ways,” MacFarland said to the media.
But the goal for the Nashville Predators is to keep improving the roster over the next few months and years to put the team in a position to be successful long-term. But MacFarland reiterated with the media the players will determine the direction of this team moving forward.
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