Nashville Predators general manager Chris MacFarland hasn't done himself any favors by trading Luke Evangelista.
A forward who just had a career season as a 24-year-old? A unanimous fan favorite, once named one of Nashville's 25 "Most Beautiful People"? A key piece of the top-six forward group and a supposed part of the team's future?
And you trade him for two draft picks?
"This decision was not made lightly," MacFarland said after news of the trade with the New Jersey Devils broke in the evening of Sept. 1.
"These are some of the toughest moves that you have to do," he said. "A good player that has a lot of cachet with the organization for a few years, a dang good person, and he's done a good job here playing hockey for the Predators."
Coming off
a career season, in which he had 12 goals and 44 assists in 81 games, Evangelista was expected to return as a top-six forward. His future, which was somewhat tied to the future of the Predators, looked bright.
But MacFarland apparently believed the time was right to move Evangelista, citing the return of two draft picks and a plethora of wingers in the Predators' pipeline as the main rationale.
"The depth of the winger market, the depth of our winger prospects, we feel we're very forward-heavy," MacFarland said. "We've got a lot of wingers that are going to wear our colors for the next few years . . . (Evangelista's) a proven player, but we're very happy with the return."
Why did the Predators trade Luke Evangelista? Chris MacFarland explains
The timing of the trade is just as shocking as the trade itself. Most presumed that MacFarland was done tinkering with the Predators' lineup ahead of training camp on Sept. 16, but apparently this has been in the works for a while.
MacFarland said Evangelista's name emerged as a possible trade candidate with the Devils during the summer, with talks crescendoing in recent weeks. The key to the deal was acquiring two high draft picks that give the Predators more flexibility.
"This decision was made for the (two draft picks)," MacFarland said. "There's a lot of different ways we can go with that, but I think the guys should be excited if there's a way we can improve the team."
The picks acquired by Nashville involve Colorado’s 2028 first-round pick, which is a conditional pick via the Devils, and their own 2028 second-round pick. The pick from Colorado will become a 2029 first-round pick if 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.
The Predators now have 11 picks in the 2028 draft: Two in the first and fifth rounds; three in the second round; and one each in the third, fourth, sixth and seventh rounds.
Evangelista's redundancy as a right-handed shot in the lineup also played a role. Filip Forsberg, Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, Matthew Wood and Mavrik Bourque are all right-handed and will play in the top-six.
"We feel pretty strong that our winger position can absorb this and we're excited about what the potential capital might be able to do for the lineup at some point," MacFarland said. "The trade has given us a bullet in the holster that we didn't have yesterday. Whether it's next week, two months from now, or three months from now. Again, our goal is to try and build something that can have sustained success."
It's worth noting that Evangelista, who was signed to a two-year deal in summer 2025, would be a restricted free agent in summer 2027. The previous negotiations with Evangelista and the Predators were dicey — he wasn't signed to a deal until two days into training camp last season.
MacFarland denied that this trade had anything to do with upcoming contract negotiations with Evangelista and his agent, Judd Moldaver.
"Obviously, every decision is not made in a vacuum, and there's lots of different angles that come into it," MacFarland said. "But for us, that didn't really come into the decision."
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com, follow him on X at@alexdaugherty1 or check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Trading Luke Evangelista a decision 'not made lightly' by Predators GM
