The Montreal Canadiens have dealt defenceman Johnathan Kovacevic to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Kovacevic had spent the last two seasons in a Canadiens uniform, playing in 139 games and scoring nine goals and 28 points. He was claimed off of waivers from the Winnipeg Jets in October 2022.
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The 2017 third-round pick was caught in a logjam of young Habs defencemen — he was the third-oldest rearguard on their roster behind David Savard and Mike Matheson, as he turns 27 on July 12.
This move appears to be in anticipation of several highly-touted prospects finally making the jump full-time to the NHL. With Kovacevic being a right-handed defenceman, this may very well mean that the team is willing to give one or more of their top defence prospects a chance to crack the roster this season. Two of their best prospects, David Reinbacher and Logan Mailloux, are both right-handed defencemen. Mailloux received a one-game audition in the final game of the regular season, recording an assist, while Reinbacher received an 11-game stint with the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Laval Rocket.
The team also boasts an abundance of left-handed defencemen — Matheson, Kaiden Guhle, Arber Xhekaj, Jordan Harris, and the highly-touted Lane Hutson. Hutson made his debut at the end of the season, recording two assists in two games and will almost certainly be given every opportunity to make the opening night roster for the 2024-25 season. The team also signed Adam Engstrom to a three-year entry-level contract at the end of this season, though he is likely headed to Laval for some seasoning in North America.
While this move certainly facilitates more opportunities for the influx of young Habs defencemen, it also gives Kovacevic another opportunity on a club with playoff aspirations. The Devils failed to make the postseason last season, but advanced to the second round in 2022-23 after defeating the New York Rangers in seven games. He joins a squad boasting some of the league’s most exciting young players with the likes of Jack and Luke Hughes, Nico Hischier, Simon Nemec, and Jesper Bratt. New Jersey also recently acquired forward Paul Cotter from the Vegas Golden Knights and goaltender Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames.
Kovacevic will also join his former teammate Jake Allen, as the netminder was traded from the Canadiens to the Devils at the trade deadline last season. The role the Hamilton, Ontario native will serve in New Jersey is unclear — where he fits on the depth chart amongst the likes of Dougie Hamilton, Hughes, Nemec, Brendan Smith, and Jonas Siegenthaler remains to be seen. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 223 pounds, he becomes the Devils’ second tallest and heaviest defenceman behind Hamilton.
This trade ahead of July 1’s NHL free agency continues to propel the team forward in their rebuild. Just days after a successful draft, seeing them select Ivan Demidov with their fifth-overall pick, they have appeared to continue the youth movement by moving out a veteran (in comparison to the rest of the team’s defensive corps) player. It will be extremely exciting to see what general manager Kent Hughes and company have up their sleeves in an offseason where expectations from the fanbase are rising and the team aims to be more competitive.
Related: Montreal Canadiens Draft Ivan Demidov 5th Overall
With this move, fans should expect Hutson (and possibly Reinbacher and/or Mailloux) to make the team’s opening night roster. This greatly increases the chances of Reinbacher or Mailloux beginning the season with the big club.
