The New Jersey Devils have announced a trade with the Montreal Canadiens to acquire defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic. In exchange for Kovacevic, the Devils will be sending Montreal a 2026 fourth-round draft pick.
Kovacevic, who was originally drafted in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft by the Winnipeg Jets, has played in 143 career games and scored nine goals while registering 19 assists. Last season, he recorded 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 62 games with the Canadiens.
The fourth-round pick that New Jersey is sending to Montreal will be the best of the three fourth-round picks currently owned by the Devils, which were acquired from the Dallas Stars, the Jets, and their own. Kovacevic is a 6-foot-5, 225-pound defenseman who has one year remaining on his three-year, $3.2 million contract signed in 2022, with a cap hit of $766,667 for this season.
