Luke Evangelista, a 23 -year right winger from Toronto, is at a key point in his career with Nashville Predators. He played three seasons in the NHL, all with Nashville, after being drafted 42nd in 2020. After his entry level contract, he is now a limited free agent.
Discussions on Evangelista contracts with Nashville drew attention due to the delay. The reports indicate that predators offered him a million AAV dollars, while Evangelista is looking for a higher salary.
On 32 thoughts Podcast, Eliot Friedman clarified the confusion on the offer. He said that a tweet said Nashville’s offer was “twice one”, but it’s not correct. According to Friedman, the team’s first offer was closer to “twice in two”.
“Someone showed me a tweet that said that the original Nashville offer in Evangelista was twice once. I don’t think it’s correct. I actually heard, that it was twice. Once again, I don’t know where the source of this was, but I checked it on Friday. (48:40)
“And as I said on several occasions, I think the counter was Jack Quinn, who was twice three more, all I know is that what I heard on Thursday, and once again, it can always change with a telephone call is that they always had trouble filling this gap on an agreement of two years.”
Last season Luke Evangelista played 68 games, scored 10 goals and added 22 assists, with an average of 13:52 minutes per game. More than 172 career games, he has 33 goals and 53 assists. Currently, negotiations are underway and the two parties are trying to find common ground.
Earlier in the week, Friedman said he didn’t know how Nashville would resolve negotiations.
“They have a number and they have somehow said it is our number, and I don’t know if they moved far at this stage,” said Friedman on Monday.
The NHL initiate, David Pagnotta, also shared that the predators had not made a lot of progress with Evangelista. The team and the player mainly discussed a two -year agreement, with a three -year option also envisaged, but a big financial gap remains. Pagnotta described the situation as “head scratch”, stressing the difficulty of filling the gap.
Nashville predators have signed the Brady Martin striker
In August, Nashville signed the 18 -year -old striker Brady Martin to an entry -level contract of three years. The predators signed it fifth in the NHL 2025 draft.
During a training session on Wednesday, Martin spoke of his first NHL experience.
“It’s pretty cool to be there again and skate with these guys. I take it day by day and I try to stay for the start of the season and I see how it goes,” he said (according to NHL.com).
The Predators, who missed the playoffs last season, started their 2025-26 campaign against the Blue Jackets Columbus on Thursday.
Published by Bhargav
