New Jersey Devils notes: On Kovacevic's recent struggles and big-game hunting

Kovacevic has not played well of late – particularly without Siegenthaler. Plus, thoughts on a high-end player who may become available in the coming weeks.

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A few New Jersey Devils notes as we continue to grind our way through the 4 Nations break:

Kovacevic has hit a wall 🧱

There’s an old adage that things are never as good (or bad!) as they seem in the moment.

I can’t think of a player that applies more to than Johnathan Kovacevic. Heading into the year, I thought Kovacevic was way overqualified as a No. 7 defenseman, which is what he was projected to be this season in New Jersey.

Then he hit the ground running with Jonas Siegenthaler and the perception seemingly adjusted from a quality depth player to a high-end shutdown guy.

The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle – and that’s becoming evident.

Kovacevic has not played very well of late. He has a 35.29 GF% at 5v5 since the holiday break – the worst among all 18 Devils skaters who’ve played 100+ minutes in that span – and has been on for more xGA than all but Luke Hughes amongst defensemen. He hasn’t defended as well and has created very little offensively (as expected).

While part of the issue is being caught in a team-wide rut, it’s probably not a coincidence things have tailed off even more in the absence of Jonas Siegenthaler.

Those two have played nearly 200 minutes apart from one another this season. Siegenthaler’s underlying profile is much better away from Kovacevic than the latter’s is without Siegenthaler.

As you can see, the Devils have controlled ~40% of the goals, expected goals, and high-danger chances with Kovacevic on the ice sans the Swiss God of Defense. That is Chicago Blackhawks-level stuff.

Don’t get me wrong; I think Kovacevic is a solid player, a strong defender, and he deserves credit for how he has performed alongside Siegenthaler for much of the year.

However, there’s evidence Siegenthaler is more responsible for their success and it’s growing with each passing game.

That’s something Tom Fitzgerald should keep in mind when it comes time to negotiate a new contract.

A name to watch 👀