The New Jersey Devils do not have much time left if they want to lock up Luke Evangelista on the kind of deal that can pay off big down the line.
At the start of September, Sunny Mehta and the Devils made a surprise move to bring in the young winger from the Nashville Predators. New Jersey sent out two 2028 picks in the deal: Colorado’s conditional first-rounder and its own second-round selection.
Evangelista has one year remaining on a contract that carries a $3 million annual salary, and that has naturally raised the question of whether the Devils plan to push for a long-term extension. For now, they still can. But that window is closing fast.
The reason is the new NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement, which begins on Wednesday, September 16. Under the new rules, teams will be limited to eight-year contracts only for players whose rights they own until that date, and after that the maximum drops to seven years.
Free agents will be capped at six. If the Devils want the full eight years, they need to move quickly.
That urgency matters because deals like this are how teams get ahead of the market. The idea is simple: lock in a young player before the breakout fully hits, then enjoy the benefit of a prime performer at a manageable cap number.
Jack Hughes. Jesper Bratt.
Anyone in a Canadiens uniform. Those are the kinds of names that tend to show up on “Best Contract in the NHL” lists for a reason.
Evangelista already looks like the kind of player worth betting on. He posted a career-high 56 points in 2025-26, but the raw totals may not be the full story. His underlying numbers point to a player with a lot more room to grow offensively.
According to Evolving Hockey, Evangelista finished 14th in the NHL in Goals Above Replacement. He also posted the league’s best isolated impact on shot attempts, and his passing and playdriving numbers were strong as well. That profile suggests a player already performing like a legitimate top-line contributor, even if the counting stats still leave some room for a bigger jump.
The upside is obvious enough that waiting would come with real risk. If Evangelista is on the verge of the kind of production surge that pushes him into 70-plus-point territory next season, the Devils would rather have him signed before that happens. At his peak, a point-per-game season does not sound out of the question.
That is why the timing matters. The best-run teams do not wait for the full explosion before paying for the player they already believe in. Carolina, Montreal, Buffalo, and Florida have all benefited from getting there first.
In Other News...
Devils Rookie Camp Already Put Two Prospects On Everyone's Radar
The Devils rookie camp opened Sept. 11 with a scrimmage against the Islanders prospects, and it did what these early September showcases are supposed to do: give the organization a first real look at young players trying to force their way into bigger conversations. New Jerseys rookies pushed the pace, showed plenty of bite, and made it clear there is competition all over the lineup as the group works toward official training camp.
Anton Silaev, the recent first-round pick, stood out with a physical edge in his first American game, while Matyas Melovsky helped spark a third-period rally with back-to-back goals. The Devils still dropped the game 5-4 in overtime, but the result mattered less than the impression left behind, with several prospects showing they are already pressing for attention as the roster picture begins to come into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Moved Fast On Luke Evangelista For A Reason
The Devils moved quickly to get Luke Evangelista under contract before the old collective bargaining agreement expired, and the timing mattered. New Jersey had acquired the winger from the Nashville Predators for draft picks, then locked him in on a five-year deal worth $7.25 million, making sure the agreement was finished before the deadline that was set to reshape how contracts could be structured.
The deal is notable not just for its length and cost, but for how it was built, with a heavy front-load and a significant portion paid in bonuses. For a team that has been careful about managing its roster and cap outlook, getting the paperwork done in time allowed the Devils to use a setup that would not have been available under the new CBA restrictions. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Prospects In Russia Are Creating A Real Future Debate
The Devils prospect pipeline has been getting a fresh look in two places at once, with Russian defenders Daniil Orlov and Nikita Shcherbakov off to strong starts and goaltender Daniil Rusakovich also opening his season well in the KHL and MHL. Those early performances matter because New Jersey has been trying to sort through a deeper group of young talent, and the recent prospects camp only added to the sense that there are more names pushing into the conversation than usual.
At camp, Matyas Melovsky, Silaev, Mikael Diotte and Amadeus Lombardi each gave the organization something to think about, even if the bigger picture remains unsettled. The Devils have plenty of reasons to be encouraged, but the real question now is how these separate track records overseas and in camp will translate when the team starts drawing firmer lines around future roster spots. [Read more 🡒]