On Sept. 2, the Devils made a smart move by trading for forward Luke Evangelista. It was a little surprising that he was available. For new team president and general manager Sunny Mehta, it was a good pickup that should improve the roster for the upcoming season.

Although it did cost a conditional 2028 first round pick (Avalanche) and a 2028 second round pick to acquire Evangelista from the confusing Predators, getting an emerging player with strong analytics seems worth it. The 24-year-old Evangelista is coming off his best season, which saw him set personal bests in goals (12), assists (44), and points (56). The breakdown included 39 even-strength points and 17 power-play points on a team that didn’t qualify for the postseason.

The Toronto native enters his fourth full season. A former Predators 2020 second round pick (42nd overall), he totaled 45 goals with 97 assists for 142 points in 253 games with Nashville. Now, he’ll begin a new chapter in New Jersey. Featured more in the Predators top six in 2025-26, Devils fans should expect head coach Sheldon Keefe to use him in a similar fashion. His success at five-on-five would benefit a team that struggled there last season.

Evangelista had a 53.9 CF percentage, which had him ranked among some of the best forwards, including Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov, Jason Robertson, and Brandon Hagel. A fast skater who is effective at winning puck battles and finding open teammates, it looks like he’d be an ideal fit on the second line with Nico Hischier and Timo Meier. As a play-making right wing, he could help unlock Meier, who’s been a disappointment since he was acquired from the Sharks on Feb. 26, 2023. Despite being an effective even strength player, Meier has been a bit of a streaky scorer with the Devils. His goals have gone down the past three years with the 24 he had last season the fewest since 2020-21.

When he learned of the trade last Monday, he told Predators reporter Alex Daugherty of the Tennessean that he was caught off guard.

“No, I honestly was pretty surprised. I was all packed up and I was headed to Nashville yesterday morning, then my agent gave me like an hour, hour and a half heads up that something might be going down. To stay by the phone. It was pretty much a shock. I thought I was going back to Nashville… I didn’t quite see it coming.”

Set to earn $3 million this season before becoming a potential restricted free agent, Evangelista has the chance to sign an extension with the Devils. Considering what’s already happened today, with the Bruins locking up Fraser Minten for seven years at $7.2 million AAV, it would be smart for Mehta to do something similar with Evangelista. Moving forward, the Devils have over $32 million in projected cap space for 2027-28. Thanks to Mehta unloading Jacob Markstrom and moving Simon Nemec, the Devils are in really good shape for next year. That could come in handy if a certain current player on the Wild decides not to sign an extension soon.

While they keep tabs on that potential coveted target, the focus is on the current roster. By making smart deals to improve up front, Mehta has the Devils on track to return the playoffs. Adding quality players in Anthony Mantha, Evan Rodriguez, and now the promising Evangelista, there’s a lot to like about an offense that prominently features Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Hischier. If Evangelista and Mantha perform up to expectations, that’ll relieve some pressure from Dawson Mercer and Connor Brown.

The Devils are also hoping Arseny Gritsyuk returns stronger from off-season surgery that ended his rookie season. His first year was solid with Gritsyuk tallying 13 goals and 18 helpers for 31 points in 66 games while averaging 15:10 of ice time. Most of the production came at even strength (26 points). If he can improve from last season, there’s no reason he can’t score 20 goals and put up close to 50 points. Much depends upon what his role will be under Keefe. At the moment, Gritsyuk is penciled in on the third line with Mercer and either Rodriguez or Connor Brown.

With rookie camp finally here, training camp is around the corner. That’ll be followed up by the start of the season on October 1 versus the Flyers in Newark. It should be a more exciting year in New Jersey.