Devils trade for Luke Evangelista

     The New Jersey Devils continue building toward a 2026-27 postseason return, trading two high future draft picks to the Nashville Predators for right winger Luke Evangelista. 

New Jersey will send Nashville a first-round pick that originally starts with Colorado, which could be in 2027, 28, or even 29 depending on the conditions at the time, and the Devils' second-round draft choice in 2028 for Evangelista. 

The twenty-four-year-old Evangelista is under contract for this season at three million and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

Last season, Evangelista produced career highs in points (56) and assists (44) for the Predators while scoring twelve goals for Nashville.

Evangelista is noted for passing more than his shot, and while he's defensively responsible, he's not the most physical forward and can be pushed off the puck.

The acquisition of Evangelista bulks up the forwards, as he'll fit well on either of the Devils' first two lines, but it does mean that the team isn't likely to be complete with their offseason moves, as the Devils have a surplus and a decision to move a forward might pay dividends with extra cap room when the deadline arrives.

 

Cleaning out the Inbox: Passings

       Another edition of tributes for some persons of note who have recently left us.

Goodbye to Tommy John at the age of 83.

Known more for the elbow surgery named after him, Tommy John won 288 games in a career that lasted from 1963 to 1989.

John was a slightly above .500 pitcher in seven years with the Chicago White Sox before a 1972 trade to the Dodgers, where he won thirty games in two and a half seasons before the elbow injury that usually ended careers.

John was a better pitcher after the surgery, as he won twenty or more games three times and 164 games post-operation.

Assist to Denise Nicarry with the notification.

Goodbye to John Niland at the age of 82.

The stalwart guard of the late sixties and early seventies Dallas Cowboys, Niland was named All-Pro three times and made six Pro Bowls from 1966-74 before playing one season with the Philadelphia Eagles, after which a knee injury ended his career.

Side note: John Niland is the first 7-11 Slurpee cup that I ever remember receiving as part of the NFL's promotional agreement with 7-11.

Goodbye to O.J. Brigance at the age of 56.

Brigance has the honor of being the only player to achieve a feat that will almost certainly never be repeated.

Brigance is the only player ever to win a Grey Cup and an NFL title and do it in the same city, winning the Grey Cup with the Baltimore Stallions in 1995 and a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens in 2001.

In the CFL, Brigance was a feared edge rusher, finishing with twenty sacks for the B.C. Lions in 1993.

As an NFL player, Brigance was mainly used on special teams for four different teams: the Dolphins, Ravens, Rams, and Patriots.

Goodbye to Zolani Tete at the age of 38.

The South African held the IBF Junior Bantamweight title and the WBO Bantamweight championship in a career that spanned 2006-2022.

Tete holds the record for the fastest knockout in a world championship fight when his right hook knocked Siboniso Gonya out in eleven seconds in 2017.

Goodbye to Larry Christenson at the age of 72.

Christenson was the third overall pick of the 1972 MLB draft and, a year later at 19, threw a complete game in his MLB debut for the Phillies.

Christenson spent his entire eleven-year career with the Phillies, winning eighty-three games, with nineteen of those victories in 1977, and won a World Series with the 1980 Phillies.

Goodbye to Tony Mundine at the age of 75.

A middleweight contender in the 1970s, Mundine might be remembered by most as the father of Anthony Mundine, who once held the WBA super middleweight title.

The elder Mundine defeated former welterweight and middleweight champion Emile Griffith and once challenged the great Carlos Monzón for the middleweight title in 1974, losing by seventh-round knockout in Argentina.