“I honestly don’t even know what either of those are,” Luke Evangelista quipped about the ageless Taylor Ham vs. pork roll debate. “So I’m neutral then, I guess.”

Something tells us that he’s intentionally staying out of that debate, but I digress.

As one of three big-time off-season acquisitions made by Devils GM Sunny Mehta, Evangelista came to New Jersey with plenty of expectations. He came over from Nashville in a trade on September 1st and ended up signing a five-year contract extension two weeks later, showing that he was committed to his new team before ever playing a game for the Devils.

Since the pre-season began, Evangelista has been a staple on the wing, alongside linemates Timo Meier and Nico Hischier. 

“You never know what to expect with these transitions to a new team,” Evangelista said Saturday afternoon before New Jersey’s game against the Islanders at UBS Arena. “It’s my first time being traded or anything like that. But I felt good, man.”

Those good feelings were helped along by a strong start to the season as Evangelista recorded eight points in his first nine games, including a four-game streak where he tallied five points. That streak came as soon as he returned from a brief three-game illness-related absence. 

“I felt like it was a strong start,” Evangelista explained. “Production-wise, especially, I had a good start and then, obviously, haven’t produced as much in the last few games.”

His production has cooled over his last four games. But there are signs that he is coming around.

“I do feel like my game’s in a good spot, especially the last couple,” Evangelista said. “Obviously, the Edmonton game – that’s a huge challenge for us, trying to shut down (Connor) McDavid’s line and obviously trying to create that offense at the same time. I was proud of our effort there.”

Indeed, there was plenty to be proud of during New Jersey’s game against the Oilers, as the line of Timo Meier-Nico Hischier-Luke Evangelista held McDavid to a single shot on goal and just one secondary assist. Two days later, when the St. Louis Blues came to town, the line generated more offensive chances, but just couldn’t capitalize on them.

“I felt like our line was generating a lot of chances,” Evangelista said. “Obviously, we weren’t able to capitalize, but we hit some posts, were all around the net making plays; rush chances in the zone, all that sort of stuff. So I feel like it’s in a good spot. I feel like we’re close to breaking through there in that sense. Just gotta keep building off that.”

On a night-in and night-out basis, it can be difficult for players to accept that they will see fewer O-zone opportunities and more D-zone starts based on the matchups. But Evangelista actually seems quite comfortable with that, given his experiences in Nashville with the Predators. 

“Honestly, I am comfortable in that kind of a role. When I was in Nashville, I played with Ryan O’Reilly for most of last year and he’s similar to Nico in that way where he’s gonna get the other team’s superstar players; that superstar matchup. It’s the same kind of thing. You’re trying to do a job defensively, be responsible in that sense, while also just trying to play your game and make plays and create offense whenever you can. So it’s kind of a role and situation that I’ve been in before.” 

Part of that comfort comes from the chemistry he’s managed to build with Meier and Hischier, especially since they’ve been together, essentially, from Day One of the pre-season. 

“It’s still building every game,” Evangelista explained. “I mean, like I said, obviously, over the last couple, you wanna see pucks go in the net. It feels like we’re all over it and it’s just not quite going in right now. But I do feel good about the process. I feel good about the chances we’re creating. I feel like, last couple games, we’ve kinda been creating more and getting stuff off the forecheck and off the rush, all that sort of thing. So it’s definitely still building and we’re looking for that one game where we just kinda break through and it gets the ball rolling.”

While all of that has been going on on the ice, Evangelista has also had to adjust to living in New Jersey, which is quite a different scene from Nashville. 

“It’s been awesome to be here,” Evangelista said. “Obviously, kinda leaning on all the boys and the veteran guys that have been here for a little bit for recommendations around the city and whatnot. But yeah, got myself comfortable with an apartment and kinda figuring out the lay of the land and different spots to hang out and check out different restaurants. All that stuff. Different kind of food scene. But Jersey’s been great. Obviously, being able to pop into New York has been really fun too. So really enjoyed my time here so far.”

For a young player, having the ability to live a quiet lifestyle and also “pop into New York” is, arguably, the best of both worlds. And Evangelista is certainly enjoying the food scene in both places.

“The restaurants are great there (in New York),” he explained. “Sometimes, what’ll happen is, if I have buddies on other teams that are coming to play, they usually stay in New York, so I’ll go pop into New York, go for dinner with them before a game, that kind of stuff. So a little bit of everything. Go in there for some shopping. But also, there’s great spots in Jersey too that I’ve been kinda checking out and getting comfortable with. So it’s definitely nice to have both the big cities there.”

Of course, with him living in New Jersey, it’s only natural that, given his Italian heritage, he’s managed to find one of the better local spots to enjoy his native cuisine. 

“I went to this old-school Italian spot one time called Belmont Tavern,” Evangelista said. “I have a buddy that lives in Jersey. He kinda recommended it to me. It was great, great food. Old-school Italian kinda joint and that was a really good one. I gotta go check that one out again. There was some chicken, there was some tomato sauce. Cavatelli, some seafood. It was a great find. It was really good. I’ll have to go back.”There’s no denying that, for as much as he’s loving life in New Jersey, it’s still different from life in Nashville.

“I guess it is a little bit different,” Evangelista admitted. “I mean, in Nashville, it was the live music on Broadway a lot. I think that’s what gets people. But honestly, if you live there, you don’t even spend too much time on Broadway. There’s so many other little neighborhoods and pockets that you can go to and check out. It’s not so much that kind of stereotypical Nashville country kind of vibe. So there’s definitely different spots in Nashville. I honestly didn’t go see too much live music, I’ll be honest. So it hasn’t been too weird of an adjustment, I guess.”

Fair enough. Not everybody makes it their business to go explore all the different live music spots that exist in Nashville. It’s one thing for tourists to do, but as a local, Evangelista certainly was allowed to want a different vibe. However, the Devils do visit Nashville on February 16th, so Evangelista surely would be New Jersey’s “go-to” guy for deciding where the team goes?

“I’ll definitely give some recommendations,” he said. “I talked to some of the (Nashville) boys when I got traded. I think we’re planning on doing a little dinner, catch up with everyone over there, maybe the night before a game. So I’ll definitely give the boys some recommendations.”

It’s been just over two months, but his five-year deal means he should be in Jersey for the foreseeable future and that’ll give him even more opportunities to become a New Jerseyan. And just in case it needs any further explanation, Evangelista said, “I feel good about the adjustment.” Now he just needs to pick a side in the Taylor Ham vs. pork roll debate and the acclimation process will be complete.