Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Chris MacFarland made a very dangerous decision Tuesday, trading away up-and-coming forward Luke Evangelista to the New Jersey Devils for Colorado's 2028 first-round (conditional) pick and New Jersey's 2028 second-round pick.
"We know Luke is a good, young player who has endeared himself to our fans, so this decision was not made lightly,” MacFarland said in a press release. “At the same time, we’ve explored all possibilities in pursuit of making our team better moving forward. This trade brings us two more high draft picks, giving us seven in the first two rounds over the next two seasons; provides us with flexibility from a roster and salary cap standpoint to make additional improvements to our team; and creates a space for the promising young wingers within our organization to compete for, and earn, an NHL job. We wish Luke all the best in New Jersey.”"nashvillepredators.com
Evangelista scored 12 goals and 56 points with the Predators last season, setting new career highs in both points and assists (44). The 24-year-old played a crucial role in uplifting the team's top six forward core, providing players like Filip Forsberg and Steven Stamkos with primetime passes into open shooting lanes.
MacFarland indicated "organzational pain," but this is too much
When MacFarland first joined the team, he instantly made it known that he was going to change this franchise's future, even if that meant causing "organizational pain." While we hadn't seen any big things that would particularly cause pain to the average Predators fan prior, this phrase just reached a whole new level.
Evangelista was supposed to be a core piece to the Predators' reconstruction efforts. His speed along with his playmaking ability always found ways to florish under a struggling system. He helped revive some of Nashville's 2024 free agency splashes like Stamkos, and in some ways even Brady Skjei.
His contract was set to expire at the end of this season and considering the insane salary inflation we've been seeing across the league, we can only imagine what he could've been asking for.
In return for Evangelista, we got two picks that won't be useful until two years from now, unless used for trade bait. There is an added clause that if Colorado's 2027 first-round pick is not transferred to Toronto, or if Colorado's 2028 first-round pick falls within the top 10, Nashville will receive its 2029 first-round pick instead.
While it's hard to imagine Colorado falling within the bottom 10 of the league, it's the lateness of this pick that is the opposite of a cherry on top. Considering Evangelista's impact to the team right now, we could've at least received a more up-to-date pick from a different team, if we were to still move him.
This trade looks to be focused on clearing up space in the lineup that MacFarland loaded up on in the first place. It is kind of ironic that Evangelista is one of the first big pieces to be moved. Players such as Ryan O'Reilly were the main targets of initial trade discussion, especially with the Devils.
We'll have to see how well, or bad, this trade ages. If Evangelista turns into a star forward for the Devils, the Smashville fanbase won't be too happy with MacFarland.
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