The Devils are about to get a key forward back in the mix.
Luke Evangelista is expected to return Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche after sitting out the last three games with an illness, giving New Jersey another option in a forward group that’s been reshaped this season. Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said the winger was trending in the right direction after practice Monday.
“He feels good,” New Jersey head coach Sheldon Keefe told team reporter Amanda Stein after the team’s practice Monday. “Talked to him, looked good in practice, and I expect him to give us a little push tomorrow.”
Evangelista’s arrival in New Jersey came this summer in a deal with the Nashville Predators, with the Devils sending back a conditional first-round pick and a second-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft. The move was made with an obvious need in mind: help on the wings in the top six.
The Toronto native has made an immediate impact when available. In five games this season, he has two goals and an assist, along with a minus-1 rating, while averaging 17:13 of ice time per game. His season in Nashville a year ago was the best of his young career, with 12 goals and 44 assists for 56 points in 81 games.
New Jersey locked him up soon after the trade, too. Evangelista is in the final year of the two-year bridge contract he signed with the Predators, but the Devils agreed to a five-year extension that begins next season and comes with a $7.25 million salary cap hit.
His return comes as the Devils try to steady a start that has been uneven through eight games. New Jersey sits fifth in the Metropolitan Division at 4-4-0 and will be aiming to get above .500 when it hosts Colorado on Tuesday.
That larger reset started last summer after a 2025-26 season that ended in disappointment, with the Devils missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs amid injuries and problems in goal and with secondary scoring. The changes included the hiring of Sunny Mehta, formerly an assistant general manager with the Florida Panthers, as the new general manager. Mehta’s summer work on the roster was led by the acquisition of Evangelista.
In Other News...
Islanders Suddenly Have A Depth Problem Devils Fans Should Notice
The Metropolitan Division picture got a little more unsettled this week as the Islanders had to lean on emergency depth, a reminder that injuries can reshape the race faster than any standings update. Around the league, Toronto and Philadelphia also dipped into their AHL pipelines, but the Islanders move stood out because it came alongside a growing list of unavailable regulars.
New Jersey has been watching the division tightly, and this is the kind of development Devils fans should notice. With Alexander Romanov on injured reserve after a torn ACL and Matias Maccelli and Cal Ritchie both leaving a recent game with lower-body injuries, the Islanders are suddenly trying to patch together their lineup while the schedule keeps moving. For a team already looking for stability, the next few days could tell a lot about how deep the roster really is. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Keep Showing One Frustrating Problem They Still Haven't Fixed
The Devils latest week offered a pretty familiar snapshot of where they are right now: capable of looking sharp against a rival, then slipping back into the kind of uneven play that has kept them from stacking wins. Their 7-1 rout of the Rangers showed what this group can do when the offense is humming, with Luke Hughes and Jack Hughes helping drive production, but the follow-up 4-2 loss to Washington served as a reminder that one strong night has not yet translated into steady form.
What keeps surfacing is the same frustrating middle stretch, where games seem to get away from them and the second period has become a recurring problem. New Jersey also needs a little more from the supporting cast and some cleaner work on the power play if it wants to turn flashes of dominance into something more reliable, because right now the talent is there but the consistency is still missing. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Record Is Hiding A Bigger Early Season Debate
The Devils early-season record has left plenty of room for debate, but the deeper numbers are offering a very different view of where this team stands. After the strong 2022-23 campaign that helped set expectations, their advanced metrics dipped in the years that followed, though there has been some improvement under Sheldon Keefe. Even with a .500 start to the 2026-27 season, New Jersey has been driving play at an elite level and sitting near the top of the league in expected goal share.
What makes the conversation so interesting is the gap between process and results. The Devils have paired strong underlying offense with solid defensive numbers, but those trends have not yet shown up consistently in the standings, especially with weaker opponents and score effects shaping part of the picture. For a team trying to prove its identity is real, the early question is not whether the Devils can generate chances, but when the standings will finally catch up. [Read more 🡒]