After a quiet August around the league, the New Jersey Devils were the first team to strike in the month of September, executing a blockbuster deal with the Nashville Predators. In the deal, the Devils sent over two 2028 draft picks -- Colorado's conditional first-rounder and New Jersey's own second-rounder -- for 24-year-old top-six right winger Luke Evangelista.
Evangelista, a second-round draft pick from the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, is coming off a career-best 56-point season. He only scored 12 goals but had 44 assists in 81 games while playing 16:37 per night. It came after a 32-point, 68-game 2024-25 and a 39-point, 80-game 2023-24. The first that the Devils shipped out came to them in the trade that sent Simon Nemec to the Calgary Flames.
Evangelista has quietly been one of the most effective under-the-hood players in the entire league during his time with the Predators. In 2025-26, he was the only player in the league who, according to Evolving Hockey, had a better isolated impact on shot-attempt differential than Arseny Gritsyuk. As per HockeyStats, he was one of five Nashville players to have an expected goal share (xGF%) of above 50%, handily leading the entire group with 53.0%. Evangelista's 56.4% Corsi for percentage (CF%), as expected, also led the team.
Luke Evangelista won't be the last move Sunny Mehta makes in September
Evangelista is in the last year of a contract that pays him $3 million annually, though it should be noted that he is a restricted free agent (RFA) and thus is under team control. With the move, the Devils have just $850,000 in cap space.
The question now focuses on the Devils' forward group as a whole. With only two rostered goalies (even though the plan is surely to run with three), New Jersey now has 14 forwards making at least $1.5 million in 2026-27. That, of course, does not include Amadeus Lombardi, who the organization is extremely high on, or Lenni Hameenaho, who can be considered ready for a full-time NHL role.
It's clear, then, that a move or two (or three) up front needs to be made. Perhaps the Devils shed salary in Stefan Noesen or Nick Bjugstad. Perhaps they package Dawson Mercer, who now seems more redundant than ever, for an upgrade elsewhere or to recoup the lost draft capital.
In the hypothetical that all three players get moved, the Devils could still ice a lineup that looks as deep as any in the league, with hypothetical lines looking as such:
Jesper Bratt -- Jack Hughes -- Anthony Mantha
Timo Meier -- Nico Hischier -- Luke Evangelista
Arseny Gritsyuk -- Cody Glass -- Evan Rodrigues
Amadeus Lombardi -- Jesper Boqvist -- Connor Brown
That, on paper, is a four-line machine that is undeniably leaps and bounds better than it was in 2025-26, with better depth than they have had since 2022-23. New Jersey has tons of flexibility here, and should immediately be regarded as having one of the five best forward corps in the league.
Regardless, more is on the horizon for Sunny Mehta and the New Jersey Devils. That much is certain.
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