The New Jersey Devils didn’t take long to extend their newly acquired forward. A few weeks after acquiring him from the Nashville Predators, the Devils announced last night that they signed forward Luke Evangelista to a five-year, $36.25MM extension.
Shortly after the Devils announced the new contract, PuckPedia revealed the year-by-year breakdown of Evangelista’s new deal: Year NHL Salary Signing Bonus Trade Protection 2027-28 $900K $8.8MM NA 2028-29 $950K $7.31MM NA 2029-30 $1MM $5.12MM 7-team NTC 2030-31 $4.085MM $2MM 5-team NTC 2030-31 $1.4MM $4.685MM 3-team NTC In normal circumstances, New Jersey wouldn’t have had to wait until nearly midnight to announce this deal.
However, Evangelista’s extension is mostly signing bonuses. Much of the focus on the upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) has been on removing the eight-year contract extension.
However, another significant change limits the amount of signing bonuses a team can offer, capping it at 60%. In Evangelista’s extension, approximately 77% of the total value consists of signing bonuses.
Regardless of the reasoning, the Devils now have another top-six forward signed through the end of the decade. Furthermore, it provides additional clarity on why the Devils traded a first- and second-round pick to acquire him initially.
As for his backstory, the Predators selected Evangelista with the 42nd overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft. He was a dominant player at the Major Junior level with the OHL’s London Knights, scoring 55 goals and 111 points in 62 games with a +29 rating during the 2021-22 campaign.
The following season, Evangelista transitioned to the professional landscape. He continued his offensive prowess in the AHL with the Milwaukee Admirals, registering nine goals and 41 points in 49 games with a +10 rating.
Unbeknownst to him at the time, that would be the last time Evangelista would play outside the NHL. Although he didn’t necessarily tear it up in the NHL, he enjoyed a solid start with Nashville, scoring seven goals and 15 points in 24 games, narrowly missing the cutoff to register his rookie season.
Evangelista spent the entire 2023-24 season with the Predators. Primarily deployed on the third line, the former second-round pick finished with 16 goals and 39 points in 80 games with a net zero rating, averaging 13:57 of ice time per game.
He finished ninth in Calder Trophy voting. Unfortunately, Evangelista ran into injury trouble the following season.
Toward the end of the 2024-25 season, Evangelista suffered a leg injury after taking a hit from Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neal Pionk, costing him nearly a month of action. Evangelista finished the season with 10 goals and 32 points in 68 games.
Regardless, he rebounded in a big way last season. In his best season to date, Evangelista scored 12 goals and 56 points in 81 games with a +1 rating, averaging 16:37 of ice time per game.
While the Predators may have hoped for more goal-scoring from him, he emerged as one of the team’s top playmakers, finishing fourth in team scoring. If he can remain a talented playmaker, and there’s no reason to think he won’t, Evangelista should help elevate his new teammates.
There’s no question the Devils have talented forwards, especially in their top six, but they have struggled to put the puck in the net. Last season, and this was somewhat impacted by injuries, New Jersey’s best scorer was Nico Hischier, who finished with 28 goals.
The Devils brought in Anthony Mantha late in the summer, which should help. However, bringing in a pure playmaker like Evangelista, who can comfortably play on the top three forward lines, should help New Jersey’s shoot-first forwards put the puck in the net on a more frequent basis throughout the season, and for many more years to come.
Photo courtesy of Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports.