Breaking: Canadiens trade 26-year-old defenseman to the to Devils in exchange for 2026 fourth-rounder.

The Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes revealed on Sunday afternoon that he had sold defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a fourth-round choice in the 2026 NHL draft.

Kovacevic, 26, is entering the final season of his three-year contract, with a salary-cap hit of US$766,667. The Canadiens claimed the 6-foot-5, 223-pounder off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets just before the start of the 2022–23 season.

Last season, Kovacevic played 62 games for the Canadiens, scoring 6-7-13 and averaged 16:31 of ice time per game. His differential of +11 was the best on the team.

With so many young defencemen, the Canadiens no longer had room for Kovacevic on the blue line. He was a healthy scratch in 12 of the Canadiens’ final 28 games last season, including the season finale. There’s a fair probability Montreal would have placed Kovacevic on waivers before the start of the next season, in which case they would have received nothing in return if he was claimed by another NHL team, which was nearly guaranteed.

“At the end of the day, you can only control what you can control, and that’s what I’ve been doing,” Kovacevic said late in the season when questioned about being named a healthy scratch. “I am proud of my work ethic and the way I have played. You can make mistakes from time to time, but it’s simply business. They want other males to play, so this is how it is.

“You want to play,” Kovacevic continued. “I’m a hockey player at the end of the day. That competition is what motivates us. It gives you a sense of purpose and makes you feel more alive. It’s unfortunate, but you only have control over what you have.”

Kovacevic was a fantastic teammate regardless of whether he was in the lineup or not, and he was popular in the locker room. He had a tight bond with fellow defenseman Arber Xhekaj, as they both grew up in Hamilton. Xhekaj could have become a restricted free agent on Monday, but the Canadiens extended him a qualifying offer on Sunday. They did the same with defenseman Justin Barron, who could have become a restricted free agent.

“These guys are my teammates, not my competitors,” Kovacevic stated near the close of the previous season. “I see it as a competition with myself. I know the standard and level of play I want to aspire to and perform at. Part of being the best player and teammate I can be is helping these guys improve. Helping others feel comfortable makes you feel great as well. It just makes you play for something bigger than yourself because I want us to win.You’re always cheering for your teammates and when you play for something bigger than yourself that’s when I think you can really get better, too, because you don’t have an ego about it. You’re not getting in your own way. You’re just doing whatever it takes to help the team win. And usually what it takes to help the team win is playing your best.”

When asked near the end of last season if he was trying to show something in order to keep his position the next season, Kovacevic replied: “I try not to think about that because, at the end of the day, you can only control what you can control. I thought I was playing good hockey until you were taken out of the lineup, which is beyond my control. It’s important to me to retain my own scoreboard.

“You keep track about how you feel about yourself, if you played well, if you didn’t play well,” he added. “You have to acknowledge yourself if you’re playing well and if you’re not you have to be on yourself because, at the end of the day, you can’t control whether you’re in the lineup or not and sometimes there’s other factors that might influence that. So just focused on myself.”

Kovacevic obtained a degree in civil engineering after playing three seasons at Merrimack College before turning professional. The Jets chose him in the third round (74th overall) at the 2017 NHL Draft.