The offseason is rapidly approaching as the Stanley Cup Finals are on the horizon. Given that, it is time to wrap up coverage from the 2024-25 season, which saw the New Jersey Devils lose in the first round to the Carolina Hurricanes. In our final edition of a four-part series, we take a look, and grade, the remaining Devils’ defensemen and last goaltender.
Johnathan Kovacevic
One of the best moves of the offseason was the Devils acquiring 27-year-old Johnathan Kovacevic in exchange for a fourth-round pick. Thanks to some late starts due to injury recovery, Kovacevic was inserted into the lineup opening night, and remained until the last game of the regular season where he was rested.
Over these 81 games, Kovacevic played like one of the best defensive defensemen in the league. His on-ice defensive metrics ranked in the league’s 97th percentile. Among 925 skaters to play a game this season, Kovacevic ranked third in the league in defensive goals above replacement. As a result, he was rewarded with a five-year extension midseason.
Grade: A-
Simon Nemec
Simon Nemec played hero in the Devils’ lone playoff win in Game 3 of their matchup against the Hurricanes. The playoffs as a whole were an extremely encouraging sign for Nemec, as his 49.17 expected goals-for percentage ranked 11th among 23 Devils to play a playoff games. However, his regular season play was very troublesome.
Nemec’s 37.72 xGF% in the regular season was fourth-worst on the team and ranked second-worst in the league among 240 defensemen to play at least 300 minutes of five-on-five ice time. As far as GAR goes, Nemec also graded out extremely poorly, as his negative-8.7 GAR ranked 320th among 326 defensemen to play a game this season.
Grade: D
Brett Pesce
General manager Tom Fitzgerald made the decision in the offseason to move on from defenseman John Marino and replace him with Brett Pesce, who got a six-year contract. After missing some games to begin the season, Pesce played in 72 for the Devils in the regular season.
Pesce got off to a slow start, but came into his own and helped his partner for the majority of the season Luke Hughes, progress his game. Pesce, overall, did what he was brought to New Jersey to do. He ranked in the league’s 80th percentile defensively and was strong on the penalty kill. It was a successful first season in New Jersey for the Tarrytown, New York native.
Grade: B
Jonas Siegenthaler
Jonas Siegenthaler bounced back in a huge way this past season, reflecting the player he was in 2022-23. Unfortunately, for the second-straight season, he was hampered by injury, limited to 55 games in the regular season. Across these games, though, Siegenthaler graded as one of the best defenseman in the league.
Like his partner, Kovacevic, Siegenthaler’s defensive metrics were off the charts. Specifically, he ranked in the league’s 99th percentile and did terrific work on the penalty kill. Despite being limited to only 55 games in the regular season, he ranked 19th in overall GAR and first in defensive GAR, among 326 defensemen to play in the NHL this season.
Grade: A
Jacob Markstrom
Largely due to injuries, it was a very up-and-down season for the Devils’ new goaltender. Through his first 36 games of the season, Jacob Markstrom owned a 0.912 save percentage and a 10.00 goals saved above expected (GSAx). However, he suffered a knee injury and missed just over a month and struggled mightily when he came back. To end the regular season, Markstrom posted a 0.875 save percentage and a -4.41 goals saved above expected over his last 11 starts.
Overall, despite a 0.900 regular season save percentage, Markstrom ranked a respectable 30th in the league in GSAx on the season (among 98 goaltenders). He then went on to post an excellent playoff round against the Hurricanes, despite the series loss, stopping 4.15 goals above expected and posted a 0.911 save percentage.
Grade: B