Devils’ Johnathan Kovacevic undergoes knee surgery, won’t be ready for training camp

New Jersey Devils defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic underwent knee surgery Thursday and will not be ready to return in time for training camp next season, Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald confirmed per team broadcaster Bill Spaulding.

Through 81 appearances with the Devils this season, Kovacevic scored once and added 16 assists for 17 points coupled with a plus-10 rating and a team-leading 72 penalty minutes while averaging 19:49 in time on ice per game, fourth most among New Jersey rearguards.

In March, the Devils signed Kovacevic to a five-year extension that begins in the coming campaign and carries a $4-million average annual value, according to PuckPedia. The Devils originally acquired Kovacevic from the Montreal Canadiens in the 2024 offseason in exchange for a conditional fourth-round selection in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Originally chosen by the Winnipeg Jets in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft, Kovacevic has since skated in four seasons with the Jets, Canadiens, and Devils where through 224 career contests he has collected 10 goals and 35 assists for 45 points. This season, the 27-year-old native of Hamilton, Ont., made his debut in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, seeing three contests in the Devils’ opening-round series versus the Metropolitan Division rival Carolina Hurricanes before sustaining an undisclosed injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the postseason.

Prior to making his NHL debut with Winnipeg, Kovacevic spent part of four seasons with the Manitoba Moose, the Jets’ top minor-league affiliate, where through 137 total appearances he tallied 18 goals and 40 assists for 58 points highlighted by a career-high 30 points coming in 62 games in 2021-22.

For the Devils, the club wrapped up the 2024-25 campaign with a 42-33-7 record and 91 points to place third in the Metropolitan Division and advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second time in the past seven years.