New Jersey Devils Sign Defenceman to Extension

The 27-year-old right shot defenseman stands at 6 foot 5 and is a solid depth defenseman. Kovacevic has really found his game since coming to New Jersey. He has 14 points on the year which is one shy of his career high of 15. While his numbers don’t pop off the page, he makes his money as a shut down defenseman.

Kovacevic was traded to the Devils from the Montreal Canadiens in a deal that took place over the summer. The Canadiens gave him up in exchange for a fourth round pick. They claimed Kovacevic off of waivers from Winnipeg but opted to trade him due to their abundance of defenseman. He was originally drafted by the Jets in the 3rd round back in 2017.

What this means for New Jersey

With the season ending injury to Jack Hughes the Devils deadline plans have had to slightly change. The team hasn’t made nay moves to load up heading into the playoffs. With this being said, Kovacevic could have been on the move if a deal wasn’t worked out between the two parties. He currently finds himself on the third pair with newly acquired Brian Dumoulin.

The injury to Dougie Hamilton has seen Kovacevic get more minutes down the stretch. However, once Hamilton returns the extension raises some questions. With Brett Pesce on the right side as well what will the Devils do with Simon Nemec? He hasn’t quite found his game at the NHL level and there have been rumors of his dissatisfaction in New Jersey. Ultimately, with the Johnathan Kovacevic extension, it’s possible that the team opts to move on from Nemec in the summer.