The New Jersey Devils have made a trade with the Montreal Canadiens to acquire defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic, the team announced on Sunday. In exchange for Kovacevic, the Devils will be sending Montreal a 2026 fourth-round draft pick. Kovacevic was originally drafted in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft by the Winnipeg Jets.
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, who is in his third year in the NHL, has played in 143 career games, scoring nine goals and registering 19 assists.
Last season, Kovacevic recorded 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 62 games with the Canadiens. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound defenseman 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.