This season has been one of the birds for all New Jersey Devils fans. Jack Hughes’s Golden Goal can only help so much with the devastating issues that plague this franchise. There’s a good chance that there will be a complete overhaul of the front office and coaching staff if a miracle isn’t performed at the end of the season.
There are many mistakes that led to today. The biggest one is still Tom Fitzgerald allowing another GM to get Quinn Hughes when he had the inside track to get Mr. Golden Goal’s brother on the roster. The Devils were firmly in the playoff conversation when Quinn Hughes was traded to the Minnesota Wild, and now, they are basically in the Gavin McKenna conversation with 24 games to go.
One reason the Devils didn’t get Quinn Hughes is because of who they already have on the roster on defense. There are seven NHL defensemen. They might trade Dougie Hamilton before next week’s trade deadline, Luke Hughes is still coming back from injury, and Simon Nemec is growing, but they need to find playing time for seven players or they have to bench one. When they tried that with Dougie Hamilton, it went terribly.
Right now, the odd-man out appears to be Johnny Kovacevic. He returned last month from a torn ACL he suffered in the playoffs against the Carolina Hurricanes.
That injury came just a few weeks after signing a five-year extension. The Devils traded for Kovacevic in the 2024 offseason, and he immediately drew into the lineup due to injuries. He was incredible alongside Jonas Siegenthaler, and their defensive dominance helped the Devils stack points early and lead to a playoff position.
Unfortunately, he started to fall off towards the end of the season. He wasn’t as good partnered with anyone else as he was with Siegenthaler, but the offense also struggled with that unit.
This season, Kovacevic has been terrible. According to Natural Stat Trick, Kovacevic has allowed the most goals/60 of any Devils defenseman (3.53). It’s not just bad luck, either. He is very clearly losing his minutes.
Johnny Kovacevic has to step up to earn his contract
The Devils have four more seasons committed to Kovacevic, paying him $4 million per season. That’s an expensive mistake if he was a one-hit wonder. It’s even worse if he’s just not the same player after the knee injury. Not only that, but Fitzgerald gave him a no-trade clause, because of course he did.
A buyout is an interesting option. It doesn’t save a lot of money now (about $1 million next season), but it’s not expensive beyond the years of the contract ($729,000 from 2030-2034).
It’s highly unlikely that’s the route the Devils go, whether that’s Tom Fitzgerald or a new GM. Either way, it’s an issue. Maybe a team is willing to trade for Kovacevic, but that no-trade clause complicates things more than it needs to.