Luke Evangelista returns to Nashville Predators practice putting contract stalemate 'behind him'

The last time Luke Evangelista was on a sheet of ice in Nashville was in April. 

The Predators were wrapping up a disappointing regular season and Evangelista was preparing to negotiate a new contract as his entry-level deal was coming to an end. 

In no way did Evangelista expect what was to come that summer, which was a three-month standoff that saw him miss the entirety of the preseason and eventually head home to Toronto as contract negotiations continued. 

"It's good to be back and it's good to see everyone again," Evangelista said. "It's a good pace at practice today and good energy. It feels like there's a different energy than there was at the end of last year. It felt good to get the feet wet." 

Monday, Evangelista returned to Predators practice after signing a two-year, $6 million deal on Friday. It was apparent that everyone was excited to have him back. His teammates gave him stick taps at the end of practice as he did a pseudo "welcome back" lap around the ice. 

"It was great to see him. Obviously, we're very excited to have him," Predators head coach Andrew Brunette said.  

The 23-year-old has gained quite a following on social media among Predator fans, as many were re-posting videos and photos of Evangelista back on the ice. It all comes back to Evangelista's mentality of recognizing that it was "unfortunate" negotiations went so long, but wanting to move on from it. 

"At the end of the day, this is a business and they're trying to do what's best for the organization and I'm going to do what's best for myself," Evangelista said. "No one imagined it [contract negotiations] dragging on that long; unfortunately, it did, but it's behind everyone now, and we can focus on the season." 

Outside of all the commotion of the ice, Evangelista said that this was one of the best summers of his life in training and getting back into shape for this season. 

"I worked on a lot this summer. I think this was the best summer of my life, training-wise," Evangelista said. "I changed what gym I was working out at, worked with some new skills guys and switched up the nutrition a little bit with discipline."

"I knew I wanted to have a good summer coming into this season." 

During his time back in Toronto, while Predators training camp was underway, Evangelista was able to skate with his individual skills coach and the London Knights, his junior team. He said that helped prep him for Predators practice, closing the catching-up gap. 

Evangelista has also taken notice of all the young talent on the ice, which has played into his thoughts on the "different energy" at practice.

With regular season rosters due Monday night at 5 p.m., Brady Martin, Joakim Kemell, and Ozzy Wiesblatt are three of the young guys still with the Predators. During drills, Evangelista paired with Kemell at left wing on the third line, alongside Fedor Svechkov and Steven Stamkos. 

"It feels like there's a bunch of new faces around, with some young guys bringing that youthfulness and happy-to-be-here energy," Evangelista said. "It felt like a great blend and it's great to be back with them today." 

Having that "new energy" at practice was needed, as Evangelista said the team needed a reset after last season. Moving into a new season, which starts on Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets at 7 p.m. at Bridgestone Arena, Evangelista believes harnessing that energy will be crucial. 

"It [last season] had dragged on and we had been out of the race for a while," Evangelista said. "It's not the same energy and atmosphere when you're not playing competitive games in the last two months of the season."

"That fresh start is what that energy is all about and we're right back in the race now. A good start is going to be important for us."