Player Discussion Johnathan Kovacevic

[Harry Kakalovich]

In the Habs roster post he's listed as 6'5"? I didn't know he was so tall!! Maybe he's more valuable than I thought.

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[Skip Bayless]

I am by no means a Kovacevic believer, but I think he's having a pretty good camp so far.

Better than every D not named Guhle, Savard or Mailloux.

 

[Ezpz]

I am by no means a Kovacevic believer, but I think he's having a pretty good camp so far.

Better than every D not named Guhle, Savard or Mailloux.

He definitely played his way into staying in the top 6. The Eddy trade allows both Xhekaj and Harris to stay in the lineup permanently so a guy like Barron isn't going to get in the lineup before injuries.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Kova needs a new thread title

I am by no means a Kovacevic believer, but I think he's having a pretty good camp so far.

Better than every D not named Guhle, Savard or Mailloux.

He's more consistent into what he provides than given credit for. Certainly not offensive but the guy brings it shift after shift. He's my 7th guy on D and a very good extra D to have because even if he plays 20-50 games, he's matured enough to handle the in/out of the line-up and doesn't need more development time.

 

[MasterD]

I am by no means a Kovacevic believer, but I think he's having a pretty good camp so far.

Better than every D not named Guhle, Savard or Mailloux.

Yeah, he's got less puck skills than most of the other ones, but he's been very stable. Fine as a #6.

I'm not sure having a fine #6 is preferable to giving ice time to younger guys with more potential, though, at this point.

 

[Tyson]

Yeah, he's got less puck skills than most of the other ones, but he's been very stable. Fine as a #6.

I'm not sure having a fine #6 is preferable to giving ice time to younger guys with more potential, though, at this point.

His reliability along with his sub 800K salary for 2 more years is a no brainer. He belongs in the bottom pairing easily.

 

[calder candidate]

Yeah, he's got less puck skills than most of the other ones, but he's been very stable. Fine as a #6.

I'm not sure having a fine #6 is preferable to giving ice time to younger guys with more potential, though, at this point.

He is making the right play, he has the size plus very cheap and he is actually playing better everyone right now.
He is getting 3rd pairing minutes if you want to give ice time to the kids send them to the AHL.

 

[MadMslm]

Great camp so far. I know some advanced statistics aren’t kind to him, but they don’t tell the whole story.

The eye test doesn’t lie, he doing good things on the ice and he isn’t devoted of offensive abilities. Apparently, he tries a lot of things at practice and you can see he is gaining confidence.

I thought they wouldn’t send Barron back down so I expected him to be #7 to start the year and get in on rotations, but he forced himself up the line up.

 

[ReHabs]

Great camp so far. I know some advanced statistics aren’t kind to him, but they don’t tell the whole story.

The eye test doesn’t lie, he doing good things on the ice and he isn’t devoted of offensive abilities. Apparently, he tries a lot of things at practice and you can see he is gaining confidence.

I thought they wouldn’t send Barron back down so I expected him to be #7 to start the year and get in on rotations, but he forced himself up the line up.

He's one of our most valuable trade pieces too because of it. Incredibly cheap contract for what he brings.

 

[Steve Shutt]

So what do our d pairings look like to start the season. I'll guess:
Matheson Savard
Guhle Xhekaj
Harris Kovacevic
Lindstrom

IR = Wideman
AHL = Barron, Norlinder, Mailloux

 

[MadMslm]

He's one of our most valuable trade pieces too because of it. Incredibly cheap contract for what he brings.

I think they would have been open to moving him a long the way.

It will be interesting to see how the situation develops as some will disappoint.

A lot will depend on this season especially on the defensemen side of things. At one point they will have to move some and I doubt value will be here individually.

 

[BLONG7]

The guy is a quiet steady defender.....

 

[BLNY]

The guy is a quiet steady defender.....

Nothing fancy, but routinely makes the right play under pressure. There will always be room for guys like him. His current contract pays him just below the league minimum for contracts starting in the 2023-24 season. At 766k, he's a borderline steal.

 

[Paddyjack]

So what do our d pairings look like to start the season. I'll guess:
Matheson Savard
Guhle Xhekaj
Harris Kovacevic
Lindstrom

IR = Wideman
AHL = Barron, Norlinder, Mailloux

Waive Lindstrom, keep Norlinder. Show the players that when you deserve it, you win something.

 

[Rapala]

This guy is determined to make me eat crow this season and I love it. His game has improved to the point I can easily see him doubling his production while doing all the other things that makes him a bitch to play against. It felt good seeing some snark to his game last evening. Right now he is far better than Savard who is basically a shot blocker at this point. His shot seems to have more bite and he continues to improve on his first pass. A RD waiver pick up that has top 4 potential will be a bigger steal than Lord Byron in the long run. I've always like his ability to read the game and as Marty pointed out in his presser the dude just gets it.

 

[Le Tricolore]

Kovacevic is our new Kulak. Nothing special, but serviceable, and can play most nights. I doubt he'll ever become much better than he currently is, but what he is now is still a decent NHL player.

 

[1909]

Kovacevic is our new Kulak. Nothing special, but serviceable, and can play most nights. I doubt he'll ever become much better than he currently is, but what he is now is still a decent NHL player.

And he is a RD, which is a valuable asset.

 

[Redux91]

So what do our d pairings look like to start the season. I'll guess:
Matheson Savard
Guhle Xhekaj
Harris Kovacevic
Lindstrom

IR = Wideman
AHL = Barron, Norlinder, Mailloux

Again I cannot comprehend people having Lindstrom in the NHL line up??

This guy is determined to make me eat crow this season and I love it. His game has improved to the point I can easily see him doubling his production while doing all the other things that makes him a bitch to play against. It felt good seeing some snark to his game last evening. Right now he is far better than Savard who is basically a shot blocker at this point. His shot seems to have more bite and he continues to improve on his first pass. A RD waiver pick up that has top 4 potential will be a bigger steal than Lord Byron in the long run. I've always like his ability to read the game and as Marty pointed out in his presser the dude just gets it.

And still signed for next year at like 750k lol
It's crazy signing a 3 year ahl deal like that, and we swoop in and make him the biggest bargain NHLer in the league lol

 

[Habssince89]

Kovacevic is our new Kulak. Nothing special, but serviceable, and can play most nights. I doubt he'll ever become much better than he currently is, but what he is now is still a decent NHL player.

I don't full agree. I get what you're driving at, but I thrink Kovacevic has a higher upside. Kulak didn't have his size and its clear Kovacevic is a better puck mover. Kulak was a beauty though

 

[ChesterNimitz]

His reliability along with his sub 800K salary for 2 more years is a no brainer. He belongs in the bottom pairing easily.

At his current salary, despite his limitations, Kovacevic brings good value. He's looked very steady and has made more offensive plays than I thought he was capable of.

 

[JT3]

He pairs well with one of the younger guys like Xhekaj/Harris who can move the puck while he plays the steadier defensive presence. As others have mentioned his cap hit is a steal, keep playing him and driving his value up and when the younger guys are ready to step in we can hopefully turn him into a 2nd or 3rd round pick. From a waiver claim that would be a solid outcome.

 

[Rapala]

He pairs well with one of the younger guys like Xhekaj/Harris who can move the puck while he plays the steadier defensive presence. As others have mentioned his cap hit is a steal, keep playing him and driving his value up and when the younger guys are ready to step in we can hopefully turn him into a 2nd or 3rd round pick. From a waiver claim that would be a solid outcome.

Or we keep him because he proves to be so reliable. Defensemen are still in the business of keeping pucks out of their own net. Matheson and Kovacevic were our best defenders 5v5.

 

[ReHabs]

Whatever is the opposite of a scapegoat, that’s Kovacevic for me

 

[Rapala]

Whatever is the opposite of a scapegoat, that’s Kovacevic for me

At this point I believe Ghule's O game would advance far more paired with Kovacevic than with David Savard. Savard has this annoying habit of trying to be the guy to venture up ice leaving Ghule holding the fort. The opposite would be true with Kovacevic.

 

[Andy]

Such an interesting player. I always forget he's there. Then someone makes a very smart, subtle play from the back end. I ask myself, "who is that?" and it's always Kovacevic.

He has such a great ability to step up on the play and keep the offense alive. Too bad his hands aren't the best because he'd be a real pain offensively.