Montreal Canadiens Deal Young Defenceman

The Montreal Canadiens have been staying busy before free agency. News broke on Sunday that the Habs completed the Johnathan Kovacevic trade with the New Jersey Devils. The return will be a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. News of the deal was broken by The Daily Faceoff’s Frank Servalli

Kovacevic is going to #njdevils in exchange for a 2026 4th Round Pick. https://t.co/4qyPHdK4pg

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) June 30, 2024

Canadiens Make Johnathan Kovacevic Trade with Devils

Kovacevic has played for the Winnipeg Jets and the Canadiens over parts of three seasons. The soon-to-be 27-year-old supplied six goals and seven assists for 13 points in 62 games this season. He had a Corsi for of 42.3 and a relative Corsi of -3.4.

The Grimsby, Ontario native has nine goals and 19 assists for 28 points in 143 career games. Kovacevic was originally drafted by Winnipeg in the third round, 74th overall of the 2017 NHL Draft. This season was his best goal-scoring season, but he had his most points and games in the 2022-23 campaign.

He had a solid college career with Merrimack College of the Hockey East Conference of the NCAA. Kovacevic provided 19 points in the 2016-17 campaign with the Warriors.

What It Means

Montreal seems to be trying to clear out the defensive logjam in the prospect pipeline. The emergence of Lane Hutson and the continued growth of David Reinbacher means the Canadiens had to make some moves on the blueline.

However, the logjam seems to be on the left side. Dealing Kovacevic does help clear a path for a younger defender to get a shot. However, is a right-handed shot. It seems like the number games forced Kovacevic out in Montreal. The Habs have an embarrassment of riches on defence, but right-handers are always in demand.

However, there’s always a market for right-handed blueliners and the Devils get one here. New Jersey has been looking to improve its defence and the move makes sense.