It was a good weekend for 27-year-old Johnathan Kovacevic.
On Friday, March 7, the New Jersey Devils signed the defenseman to a five-year, $20 million contract with an average annual value of $4 million.
"I am pumped to be part of this group for a long time," Kovacevic said on Friday. "Now it is time to be part of the solution."
"He's been a really nice addition for us," Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said. "He got a really good opportunity coming in because of the injuries we had earlier on, with Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce, and he exceeded our expectations quite honestly. We knew we were getting a tremendous guy, good teammate, works extremely hard and is very coachable. Obviously the size (6-foot-5, 223 pounds) and reach and stuff that he has, but his play has been really good. He and Jonas Siegenthaler have been a tremendous pair for us and a big part of our team's success for the early going of the season, so it's great to see his growth."
Two days later, on Saturday afternoon, the 6-foot-5 blueliner earned a primary assist on Erik Haula's second-period goal against the Philadelphia Flyers. It extended Kovacevic's career-high assists total to 15.
It also marked his 16th point this season, a new career high, surpassing his 15 points earned with the Montreal Canadiens in the 2022-23 campaign.
The Ontario native will enter Tuesday's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets with assists in back-to-back games for the second time this season.
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