Former Canadien Johnathan Kovacevic continues to make the most of his opportunities in hockey.
Now, the 27-year-old defenceman is doing that in New Jersey after the Canadiens traded him to the Devils on June 30 in exchange for a fourth-round pick at the 2026 NHL draft.
Heading into Thursday’s game against the Canadiens in New Jersey (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS), Kovacevic had 1-5-6 totals in 15 games while averaging 20:54 of ice time with a plus-7 differential. Last season with the Canadiens, the 6-foot-5, 223-pounder had 6-7-13 totals in 62 games while averaging 16:31 of ice time and was a team-best plus-11.
Kovacevic was made a healthy scratch for 20 games last season, including the final game as Logan Mailloux made his NHL debut and Lane Hutson played his second NHL game. With so many young defencemen in the system, the Canadiens no longer had a spot for Kovacevic, so GM Kent Hughes dealt him to New Jersey. Five of the seven defencemen on the Canadiens’ current roster are 23 or younger and there have been growing pains with the team giving up an average of four goals per game before facing the Devils.
Hughes also dealt goalie Jake Allen to the Devils at the NHL trade deadline last season in exchange for a third-round pick at the 2025 NHL draft. In his first five games with the Devils this season, the 34-year-old Allen has a 3-1-1 record with a 2.60 goals-against average, a .904 save percentage and two shutouts, while both Samuel Montembeault and Cayden Primeau have struggled in goal for the Canadiens behind the young defence group. Heading into Tuesday’s game, Montembeault had a 3-5-1 record with a 3.37 GAA and a .897 save percentage, while Primeau was 1-2-1 with a 4.38 GAA and a .861 save percentage.
The Devils acquired Kovacevic to be a depth defenceman. But after Luke Hughes suffered a shoulder injury during the off-season and Brett Pesce had off-season leg surgery, a spot opened up for Kovacevic. He is now on the second defence, pairing with Jonas Siegenthaler.
New Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe, who spent the previous five seasons behind the Toronto Maple Leafs bench, has been impressed by Kovacevic.
“Better than advertised,” Keefe told NJ.com. “We knew we were getting a good depth defenceman who we thought had his better days ahead of him. That he was going to continue to grow his game. He got a great opportunity. He came in starting training camp as the seventh defenceman. Injuries happened, the opportunity’s there, he’s been tremendous.
“Any time he maybe slipped a little bit or had a bad shift, he bounces right back and makes a great play,” Keefe added. “He’s been a really, really important part of our team, especially as we were short-handed on defence.”
The Canadiens also traded defenceman Jordan Harris to the Columbus Blue Jackets over the summer in exchange for Patrik Laine and a second-round pick at the 2026 NHL draft. Things haven’t worked out as well for Harris as they have for Kovacevic with the 24-year-old being made a healthy scratch for five of the Blue Jackets’ first 12 games. In seven games with Columbus, Harris has no points and is minus-2 while averaging 13:17 of ice time.
Kovacevic is the type of defenceman who often goes unnoticed on the ice — which is a good thing. He plays a steady game and knows his limitations and the Canadiens have missed him this season. Kovacevic is also a great teammate and a very intelligent and interesting person to talk with.
Getting to the NHL wasn’t easy for him.
Kovacevic grew up in Hamilton playing hockey and soccer until he was 16. After getting selected by the Niagara IceDogs in the 12th round (226th overall) of the 2013 OHL draft, Kovacevic decided to focus on hockey. For two straight years, he was cut by the IceDogs at training camp and instead played for the Ottawa Jr. Senators in the CCHL Junior A league before taking the NCAA route and earning a scholarship at Merrimack College in Andover, Mass.
At that point, Kovacevic realized his dream of playing in the NHL was fading and he focused on earning his degree in civil engineering, which he did. He also played well enough during his first season at Merrimack to get selected by the Winnipeg Jets in the third round (74th overall) of the 2017 NHL draft.
After leaving university, Kovacevic spent three seasons playing for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose and only played four games with the Jets before the Canadiens claimed him on waivers before the start of the 2022-23 season. He proved he could play in the NHL over the next two years before being traded to the Devils.
“I think my game’s been going well and I just want to stay focused,” Kovacevic said in an interview on the Devils’ website. “I know that I’ve done a lot of work over the summer, over the years, to improve my game and I want to keep improving it, keep moving forward. There’s a lot of things for me to work on. It’s been a good start and I just want to keep it going.”