The New Jersey Devils make a shocking trade right before Free Agency Opens and Acquire Big Right Shot Defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic from the Montreal Canadiens for a 2026 4th Rd pick.
With about 20 million in cap space fir tomorrows free agency to open the NJ Devils are expecting to sign Big names on Forward and Defense. With Brett Pesce name being linked to the Devils with making this trade and bring in another right shot D, maybe they lean more to signing Left Shot Defenseman Nikita Zadorov. With the Paul Cotter trade for Alexander Holtz and Akira Schmid the Devils are adding more and more size and Zadorov makes more sense. What will Tom Fitzgerald and the NJ Devils add?
#njdevils #johnathankovacevic #montrealcanadiens #nikitazadorov #brettpesce
@New Jersey Devils
19 Comments
If we’re not paying out the nose for Z I love it. And it looks like that might be the move . Just like to have a top 6 forward to round it out
Hmmmm 🤔
First, I would not trust these "NHL insiders" to draft a fantasy team.
Second, very interesting trade. Do not know much about this new guy except he is a house and doesn't do much offensively.
Hopefully, he can provide some needed grit & actual defense on the backend.
Sure does make Monday a whole lot more interesting.
Would like to see a serious left handed Dman and a few more veteran forwards.
As a fan, I am hoping for a Henrique or a Kane.
His plus/ minus is great. Playing for Montreal and having a plus 11 is huge
I would much rather have Zadorov instead of Pesce but I will admit I am not familiar with the latter. I just want to bully the Rangers and make the Hughes feel safe out there.
Leafs aren’t finished. Taney is just the first piece. Tomorrow should be fun
He’s probably a 7th D – they are more likely going for Dillon than Zadorov for lh d
+11 on a terrible Canadians team is an interesting note as well. Definitely a little twist on what we were expecting, we'll see what happens tomorrow.
Tom Fitzgerald,,,, PLEASE DONT OVER PAY FOR Zadorov, he is a bottom pair D man who can hit. We have that now.
Kovacevic is solid. Doesnt make too many mistakes. Reminds me of Brett Kulak. If hes on your 3rd pairing, it's because you have good defense.
Pesce is 100% a devil. Kovacevic is a depth guy that can pay both sides. Probably 7th D unless we don’t land dillon.
Habs fan here, Kovacevic does a good job, you'll like him, solid defenseman 6. He won't cause you trouble, he's got a nice personality. Not a flashy guy
I've always liked Johnathan so I am thrilled 🎉 LFGD 💥
Kovacevic is a depth piece. I like the trade and he sure is a big boy.
I would like to know if you would want to sign Jeff Skinner after his buyout.
Hoping we get Zadorov
I like the way you think. I like Pesce but I don’t want him at 6 mil. This will be a contract the team regrets just like Palat’s.
If acquiring this guy allows the team to get bigger parts at other dpots it’s the right move.
I really think all this is a depth move to pace Nemec's development in Utica. That's the most likely reason. He's a solid third pairing D-Man with a low cap hit, nothing more or less (look at his ATOI and giveaway/takeaway ration in Montreal, he's not top-4 looking.
I can imagine other things, did before thinking about it, and I can be surprised but that's all this likely is.
Also, pretty sure we can afford Pesce and Zadarov and still get a top-6 winger with our cap space unless the market is way hotter than I expect or Fitz messes up big time
Trading him for only a 4th round pick? I have a problem with that 🤔 it was not enough, really.
That was a good trade. I still think the Devils will sign Pesce tomorrow. The Devils will only need to fill in 1 more position, and that's the top 6 forward.
for a 4th pk, the Habs gave the Devils a gift. Sometimes a stocked full prospect pool helps other teams when a veteran has to go!!! A lower cap hit, huge body keep the puck out of the net dman. Can help the PK and a overall solid pro player. Ive heard a great dude in the locker room too. ONLY negative is I feel sorry for Kovacevic having to be coached by over rated Keefe. Although Devils fans dont know this quite yet but its coming