On Tuesday night, the Nashville Predators decided to make a move to clear out some room in their forward core in an unconventional way.
The Predators sent 24-year-old forward Luke Evangelista to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a conditional first round pick, which originally belonged to the Colorado Avalanche, and New Jersey's 2028 second round draft pick.
Evangelista is coming off of a breakout season that saw him register a career-high 56 points in 81 games. With that being said, he's also entering the final year of a two-year contract which he signed last October. As a result, Predators General Manager Chris MacFarland may have made the move in anticipation of Evangelista's next contract.
“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 told NHL.com. "We wish Luke the very, very best as he embarks on a new journey for himself with the Devils.”
