Johnathan Kovacevic - NHL News & Rumors

Two helpers in Monday's win Kovacevic pocketed two assists while adding three shots on net, three hits and a plus-3 rating in Monday's 5-2 win over the Predators.

Impact The 27-year-old blueliner hadn't had a multi-point performance since the first game of the season, but Kovacevic had a hand in the Devils' first and last tallies of the night Monday, setting up Erik Haula in the first period and Justin Dowling for an empty-netter in the third. Kovacevic is on track for a career-best campaign, and through 24 appearances he's collected a goal and eight points with 33 hits, 28 blocked shots, 25 shots on net, 20 PIM and a stunning plus-15 rating.

NOVEMBER 26 • ROTOWIRE

Stu Cowan: Former Canadien Johnathan Kovacevic heating up with Devils Defenceman making the most of yet another opportunity with Devils after Habs had no room for him on their young blue line.

NOVEMBER 7 • MONTREALGAZETTE.COM

Gathers assist in win Kovacevic notched an assist, two shots on goal and two blocked shots in Sunday's 6-2 win over the Ducks.

Impact The helper ended a four-game slump for Kovacevic. The 27-year-old blueliner has maintained fairly steady usage even with Brett Pesce and Luke Hughes healthy, though Kovacevic is unlikely to be a power-play option moving forward. For the season, he's produced a goal, five assists, 14 shots on net, 16 hits, 13 blocked shots, 11 PIM and a plus-5 rating over 12 appearances.

OCTOBER 28 • ROTOWIRE

Nabs helper Tuesday Kovacevic produced an assist, two shots on goal and two blocked shots in Tuesday's 4-2 loss to the Hurricanes.

Impact Playing in a second-pairing role to begin 2024-25, Kovacevic has impressed with a goal and three assists over six contests. The defenseman had a total of 28 points across 139 games in the last two seasons combined with the Canadiens. Kovacevic has added nine hits, seven blocked shots, six shots on net, four PIM and a plus-1 rating this year. He's been an excellent fill-in, but Kovacevic is likely to see a reduced role once Brett Pesce (lower leg) is cleared to play.

OCTOBER 16 • ROTOWIRE

Scores goal, assist Kovacevic scored a goal on one shot and registered an assist in Friday's 3-1 victory over New Jersey.

Impact Kovacevic is already paying dividends for the Devils after they traded a fourth-round pick to Montreal for the defenseman back in June. While fantasy players probably shouldn't be expecting over a point per game out of the 27-year-old blueliner, he could challenge for the 20-point threshold this year after having previously topped out at 15 points back in 2022-23.

OCTOBER 4 • ROTOWIRE

Johnathan Kovacevic scores a goal against the Buffalo Sabres

OCTOBER 4 • YOUTUBE

Canadiens trade Johnathan Kovacevic to Devils for draft pick Habs GM Kent Hughes opens spot for younger defenceman and acquires fourth-round pick in 2026 NHL Draft in exchange for 26-year-old.

JULY 3 • MONTREALGAZETTE.COM

Canadiens trade Johnathan Kovacevic to Devils for draft pick Habs GM Kent Hughes opens spot for younger defenceman and acquires fourth-round pick in 2026 NHL Draft in exchange for 26-year-old.

JUNE 30 • MONTREALGAZETTE.COM

Dealt to Devils Montreal traded Kovacevic to the Devils in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick Sunday.

Impact Kovacevic spent the last two seasons in Montreal, totaling nine goals and 28 points in 139 contests. The 26-year-old averaged 16:31 of ice time with 83 blocked shots and 74 hits during the 2023-24 season. He should compete for a bottom-four role with the Devils.

JUNE 30 • ROTOWIRE

Tallies two helpers versus Philly Kovacevic picked up two assists while logging a plus-2 rating in 19:28 of ice time in Tuesday's 9-2 win over the Flyers.

Impact Kovacevic assisted on a pair of Brendan Gallagher goals in the second and third periods of Tuesday's blowout win. The apples snapped a 10-game pointless streak for Kovacevic, who is up to a meager six goals and 11 points through 59 games on the season. Despite his strong performance against Philadelphia, it wouldn't be surprising to see Kovacevic exit the lineup if and when Kaiden Guhle (upper body) is ready to return.

APRIL 10 • ROTOWIRE

Healthy scratch Tuesday Kovacevic (undisclosed) will serve as a healthy scratch against Nashville on Tuesday.

Impact Kovacevic will be replaced in the lineup by a healthy Jayden Struble, who returns from a lower-body issue that kept him out for the last four contests. For his part, the 26-year-old Kovacevic has managed just one point in his last 12 contests, so his absence is unlikely to impact the majority of fantasy players -- though he has added 14 hits and 18 blocks over that stretch.

MARCH 5 • ROTOWIRE

Can't finish contest Kovacevic sustained an undisclosed injury Saturday versus the Lightning, Eric Engels of Sportsnet reports.

Impact Kovacevic left the game in the third period and did not return. It's unclear what is the nature of his injury or if he'll be available to play Tuesday versus the Predators. With Jayden Struble (lower body) also questionable for Tuesday, the Canadiens may need to make a roster move to have a full complement of defensemen.

MARCH 3 • ROTOWIRE

Enters lineup, logs assist Kovacevic had an assist, two blocked shots and one hit in Saturday's 4-3 loss to New Jersey.

Impact Kovacevic initiated the offense with a two-line pass to Cole Caufield, who fed Nick Suzuki for Montreal's second goal. The assist snapped an eight-game point drought for Kovacevic, who returned to the lineup after a two-game healthy scratch. He was back in the lineup for Jayden Struble, who was unavailable after sustaining a lower-body injury in Thursday's loss to the Penguins. Following a steady dose of activity to start the season, Kovacevic has been a healthy scratch in 10 of the last 25 games.

FEBRUARY 25 • ROTOWIRE

Lone tally in loss Kovacevic scored a goal on three shots and had two hits over 15:15 of ice time in Tuesday's 4-1 loss to Ottawa.

Impact Kovacevic gave the listless Canadiens life in third period with his sixth goal of the season, but that was all Montreal could muster in its third straight defeat, two coming at the hands of the last-place Senators. Head coach Martin St. Louis rejiggered the blue line, calling up Arber Xhekaj and inserting Kovacevic, who was a healthy scratch in eight of the last 14 games.

JANUARY 24 • ROTOWIRE

Stu Cowan: Canadiens' Johnathan Kovacevic epitomizes a winning culture "When you play for something bigger than yourself that’s when I think you can really get better," he says about dealing with being a healthy...

JANUARY 17 • MONTREALGAZETTE.COM

Returns to lineup, scores Kovacevic scored a goal on one shot and had one hit over 11:23 of ice time in Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Lightning.

Impact Kovacevic, who returned to the active lineup after two games as a healthy scratch, scored what may be the strangest goal in the NHL this season. Montreal goalie Sam Montembeault made a save and appeared to glove the puck, but the officials never blew the whistle. Tampa Bay skaters, believing there was a stoppage in play, skated to the bench while goalie Jonas Johansson skated out of his net toward the corner as goalies are wont to do during stoppages. Meanwhile, Montembeault dropped the puck to Kovacevic, who fired it from his own end into the net. The officials reviewed the goal, apparently listening for a whistle and never heard one. It was the fifth tally of the season for Kovacevic.

JANUARY 1 • ROTOWIRE

Liveblog: Habs play final game of 2023 vs. Lightning Christian Dvorak has an upper-body injury and will not play. Johnathan Kovacevic returns to the lineup.

DECEMBER 31, 2023 • MONTREALGAZETTE.COM

Scratched Thursday Kovacevic was a healthy scratch Thursday against Carolina.

Impact Jordan Harris returned from a lower-body injury, and it was Kovacevic taking a seat instead of Jayden Struble, who skated with Harris on the same pair.

DECEMBER 29, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Bright spot in loss Kovacevic scored a goal on one shot in Thursday's 5-1 loss to Florida. He added one blocked shot and two hits to his line over 16:48 of ice time.

Impact Kovacevic moved in from the point to beat Sergei Bobrovsky for his fourth goal of the season, which established a new career high for the defenseman who scored three times in 77 games last year. All four tallies were scored in the last seven games, after Kovacevic began this season pointless over the first 16 contests. Montreal's blueline is responsible for 28 percent of the team's offense -- 18 of 64 goals scored.

DECEMBER 1, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Snipes another goal Kovacevic scored a goal on his lone shot over 11:10 ice time in Friday's 3-2 shootout win over the Sharks.

Impact Kovacevic accepted a deft dish from Jayden Struble, then the blueliner inched closer and closer while San Jose defenders held back before rifling a bullet over the right shoulder of Mackenzie Blackwood. It was the third goal in four games for Kovacevic, matching last season's tally count over 77 contests. Third-pair defensemen don't typically score on a fifth of their shots (20.0 SH%) -- particularly one who had a 3.3 SH% in his first full NHL season in 2022-23 -- so Kovacevic's offense is not expected to keep up.

NOVEMBER 25, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Scores back-to-back Kovacevic scored a goal on two shots in Saturday's 5-2 loss to Boston. He also had one hit and six penalty minutes over 16:33 of ice time.

Impact Kovacevic took a feed from Christian Dvorak in the slot and had a couple of whacks at the puck before putting it behind Jeremy Swayman for Montreal's second goal. It was the second straight game with a goal for blueliner, who scored in similar fashion Thursday when he filled an area in front of the goalie. It wasn't all good for Kovacevic, however, as he was in the box when the Bruins scored their first goal. The 26-year-old has two points (both goals) and 10 PIM over 18 games.

NOVEMBER 19, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Logs first point Kovacevic had a goal on one shot and blocked one shot over 21:27 of ice time in Thursday's 6-5 loss to the Golden Knights.

Impact Kovacevic filled space in the slot and was in position to take advantage of a blocked shot to rifle his first goal. In fact, it was his first point since a tally Apr. 8 of last season. The stay-at-home blueliner is typically not involved on offense and has 16 points over 98 career games in the NHL.

NOVEMBER 17, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Finishes on top pair Kovacevic blocked two shots and recorded a hit over 22:52 of ice time in Thursday's 4-3 overtime win against Columbus.

Impact Kovacevic began the game on the second pair -- his usual role -- but was elevated to the top pair to play with Mike Matheson at the start of the third period. Kovacevic, a third-year blueliner, logged a season-high TOI and was entrusted to kill off a Brendan Gallagher penalty late in regulation that spilled into OT. Kovacevic is considered a defensively responsible partner that may be a better fit with Matheson than Justin Barron. With David Savard (hand) slated to be out until early December, Montreal head coach Martin St. Louis is looking for an appropriate partner for Matheson. He first tried the similarly skilled Barron but eventually landed on Kovacevic.

OCTOBER 27, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

Which player has stood out for the Canadiens so far? | HI/O Bonus Is it Alex Newhook or maybe Tanner Pearson? One of our panellists believes it's defenceman Johnathan Kovacevic.

OCTOBER 20, 2023 • MONTREALGAZETTE.COM

Provides team's lone tally Kovacevic scored a goal on two shots and added four hits over 22:18 of ice time in Saturday's 7-1 loss to the Maple Leafs.

Impact After getting outshot 18-1 in the first period, Montreal was down 2-0 when Kovacevic lit the lamp early in the second. It was his first tally in 23 games and his third of the season.

APRIL 9, 2023 • ROTOWIRE

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