Predators Finally Reach Extension with Young Forward

It was reported weeks prior that general manager Barry Trotz was lowballing Evangelista and was only offering 2 years at a 1 million AAV which was an insulting offer to Evangelista. But the two parties finally agreed to a deal and got him under contract at a small bridge deal and both sides are happy.

Now Evangelista can get back to the Predators facilities and start ramping back up and getting back up to speed with what coach Andrew Brunette is looking for this season. The fact that it took Trotz this long to field Evangelista an offer that he would actually accept, is insulting.

Yes, Evangelista has not hit his prime yet and is still only 23 years old, but he is one of those that can really help the Predators out, especially in their future. Evangelista knows how to play up-and-down the lineup and can play on the powerplay and the penalty kill. He can light up the stat sheet at any given time in any game.

But he was given a bridge deal, so if he happens to light the lamp a bunch in these two years, he can definitely cash in a way bigger payday in the future.

So far in his young career in Nashville, Evangelista has tallied 33 goals and 53 assists in 172 career NHL games. Evangelista scored a career high 16 goals in the 2023 season in 80 games and scored 10 goals in 68 games in the 2024 season.

Evangelista is the type of player that teams would love to have. He is versatile and can play anywhere in the lineup and can give you 100% or more night in and night out. But with him only being 23, a bridge deal definitely made sense as he has not eclipsed 40 points in a season yet and still has yet to hit his ceiling.

But for both parties the deal is done, and they can finally get him back up to speed. This was a good deal for both sides.