Apr 10, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Nashville Predators right wing Luke Evangelista warms up before a game against the Utah Hockey Club at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Predators in Difficult Talks With Luke Evangelista

Originally posted on Breakaway on SI | By Tyler Miller | Last updated Sep 22, 2025 7:00 AM ET

With the NHL preseason getting underway and players finally getting game action again after a few months off, it is pretty common practice to have most of your star players out there. But for the Nashville Predators, that has not been the case.

General manager Barry Trotz and upcoming star Luke Evangelista have been in a contract dispute for a few weeks now. They cannot agree on money and are far apart in that aspect. A few weeks ago, they could not agree on terms and could not agree on money.

Now it seems like they finally agreed on the terms of the contract but still seem to be apart on the money aspect of it. NHL insider Darren Dreger reported recently that the two sides seem to be in agreement on a short-term bridge deal, but with them being apart on money, Evangelista is not wasting time and left the U.S. to continue his training while he waits for a deal to come together.

Ongoing discussions between the Nashville Predators and Luke Evangelista; however, the two sides remain significantly apart on money on a 2 yr term. The talented young forward has left Nashville and is returning to Canada to continue to train while negotiations continue.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) September 21, 2025

The Predators do not want to be without someone of Evangelista's caliber for too much longer. Trotz and Evangelista's agent are going to want to come to some sort of agreement very soon with the preseason being underway and the regular season being not that far away.

They are going to want to find a common ground so they can get Evangelista back to the United States, put him in some preseason games, and see if he can find his footing before the regular season begins in the first week of October. All players on NHL rosters usually use the preseason games as tune-ups to get themselves ready for a long regular season.

For Evangelista's sake, especially since he can play up-and-down the lineup, on a powerplay unit, and can kill penalties, he is especially valuable. He is also on the younger side of his 20s so he is still not yet in his prime years, but will get there soon. If they come to an agreement on a two-year deal, he can cash in in free agency later down the line, so something has to give soon.

This article first appeared on Breakaway on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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