Devils Activate Johnathan Kovacevic Off IR

The Devils are now fully healthy on the back end, at least among their NHL defenders.  The team announced that Johnathan Kovacevic has been activated off injured reserve.  To make room on the roster, Anton Silayev has been returned to AHL Utica after being a paper recall for LTIR optimization purposes on Friday.

The 29-year-old started the season on injured reserve after undergoing a minor procedure in his right knee this offseason.  He was expected to be a limited participant in training camp but evidently, the recovery took a little longer.

Kovacevic is entering his third season with New Jersey after being acquired from Montreal back in 2024.  The first of those years, 2024-25, went quite well.  He played in a career-high 81 games while logging just shy of 20 minutes per game of ice time, earning himself a five-year, $20MM extension for his efforts.

Last season didn’t go so great, however.  Kovacevic missed 44 games due to a knee injury and was also scratched for a handful of other contests as head coach Sheldon Keefe juggled having seven healthy quality defenders, a situation he will now be navigating again.  With the reduced role, Kovacevic managed just eight assists in 34 games while averaging nearly two minutes less per game of playing time.

Team reporter Amanda Stein relays (Twitter link) that Kovacevic wasn’t quite ready to suit up this afternoon against Vancouver.  However, Keefe expects to have the veteran back in his lineup in the near future.