<p>The <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/new-jersey-devils/line-combinations">New Jersey Devils</a> <a href="https://www.nhl.com/devils/news/kovacevic-re-signs-with-devils-release-3-7-25">announced</a> Friday that the club has signed defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic to a five-year contract extension worth $4 million per season.</p>



<p>Through 63 appearances with the Devils this season, Kovacevic has scored once and added 13 assists for 14 points coupled with 49 penalty minutes and a plus-11 rating.</p>



<p>Skating in his first season with New Jersey, Kovacevic was originally acquired from the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/montreal-canadiens/line-combinations">Montreal Canadiens</a> last June in a deal that saw the Devils part with a conditional fourth-round selection in the 2026 NHL Draft. In 2022, the Canadiens claimed Kovacevic off waivers from the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/winnipeg-jets/line-combinations">Winnipeg Jets</a>.</p>



<p>Originally chosen by the Jets in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft, Kovacevic has totaled 206 career contests with the Jets, Canadiens, and Devils in which he has recorded 10 goals and 32 assists for 42 points alongside 132 penalty minutes and a plus-26 rating.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="147"></div>



<p>Kovacevic has also seen success in the minor ranks where through part of four seasons with the Manitoba Moose, the Jets’ AHL affiliate, he picked up 18 goals and 40 assists for 58 points through 137 total appearances. In his final AHL season, the 27-year-old native of Hamilton, Ont., led all Manitoba defensemen with 30 points counting 11 goals and 19 assists coming in 62 games.</p>



<p>A graduate of the NCAA’s Merrimack Warriors, Kovacevic spent three seasons at the collegiate level in which he combined for 54 points counting nine goals and 45 assists coming in 101 games.</p>



<p>For the Devils, on the season the club sits 33-24-6 to hold down third place in the Metropolitan Division with 72 points. Riding a two-game losing skid, the Devils will look to return to the win column when the club retakes the ice Thursday against the Jets. The Devils have qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs once in the past six seasons.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="160"></div>
