Rumored New Jersey Devils defenseman up for trade says he won't waive no-trade clause

The New Jersey Devils are working the phones on Friday as the 3 p.m. NHL Trade Deadline approaches. The biggest rumors right now surround their defensemen. Everyone outside of Brett Pesce and Luke Hughes is reportedly available on the blue line. 

Simon Nemec’s name is the one that’s most prominently out there. The 22-year-old defenseman has had a tumultuous start to his career, but he’s clearly talented and plays well in a top role. He was incredible for Slovakia at the Olympics, leading his unit on their way to the medal round. They finished in fourth place, surprising many. 

Dougie Hamilton has been in trade rumors for months, if not a full year at this point. The $9 million star blue liner was even benched earlier this season after he refused to waive his no-trade clause, but he’s been one of the better offensive defensemen in the league since he returned to the lineup. Now, with only a few hours to get a deal done, it’s barely 50-50 that he leaves the Devils before the offseason.

One of the more intriguing names on the list is Johnny Kovacevic. He returned to the lineup in January, but he hasn’t looked nearly as good as he did last season. That’s not a huge surprise. He’s coming off a torn ACL. However, it also makes sense that the Devils are exploring trade options with Kovacevic. When they re-signed him last year at the trade deadline, it looked like a fair enough contract. He played incredibly well for the Devils, but the contract just wasn’t necessary.

When the Devils didn’t trade any of their defensemen, going into the season with all of Pesce, Hamilton, Kovacevic, and Nemec on the right side, it showed terrible roster management by the team. Now, with just a couple of hours left, they are trying to trade their way out of this mismanagement. Unfortunately, it appears one option is off the table.

Kovacevic spoke to James Nichols of NJ Hockey Now, telling him he’s not planning on waiving that full no-trade clause. 

Obviously, things change quickly in the NHL. Maybe the Devils can convince Kovacevic to waive his no-trade clause to go to a contender, but it's asking for an impossible set of circumstances to come to fruition.

Johnny Kovacevic is likely staying in New Jersey

They need to first find a team willing to take on Kovacevic's contract, send the Devils positive value for him, have the salary cap space to fit Kovacevic in now and in the future, and make it a team that Kovacevic would be willing to waive his NTC for.

At this point, the most likely option is that Kovacevic stays in New Jersey until at least the offseason. Will Hamilton or Nemec be traded instead? Those both seem way more likely.