Johnathan Kovacevic is Better Than You Think; Are The Devils Building a Winning Culture?

Johnathan Kovacevic is Better Than You Think; Are The Devils Building a Winning Culture?

Jonathan kovich Tomas Shar and John Marino what did all those players have to say during their recent media availabilities we have a lot to break down in today’s episode of Locked on Devils buckle up everybody you’re locked on Devils your daily podcast on the New Jersey Devils part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day hi this is Bryce Salvador and you’re locked on devil to trade m scores oh Steven stepped up nailed him rodor has got the pck what a shot the devil’s win the Stanley Cup Al righty now what is up New Jersey welcome back to lock onil podcast here on locked on network I’m your host College hockey club play announcer Del R Puck pitchforks and also parttime credential Mia member Trey Matthews first and foremost thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday I really appreciate it I recently turned 25 I’m a core of the way to 100 but I’m also five years away from 30 which is hard to believe but I could think of it from this perspective who knows what the next 25 years has in store had a great celebration and I’ve been away for a few days just to clear my head because like I told you guys I have been recording episode after episode after episode episode which included a trip to Las Vegas at one point I recorded Nine episodes in the last 10 days just had to hit the reset button but like I’ve been saying religiously on this show the past week or so the grind does not stop and what are we going to be talking about in today’s episode well we’re g to react to some media availabilities in today’s episode I will talk more about Jonathan kovage because I think he was one of the more underrated gets for Tom Fitzgerald then in the second segment we’re going to talk about Tomas chhar and his return to New Jersey and I still hold my head high like a proud peacock because people have been saying that I was like a dumbass for saying like thas chatar and Stephan n would come back to New Jersey or that the Devils would be interested in them and lo and behold here they are reunited with the Devils Tatar had his media availability and we’re going to talk about what his role might be with the team moving forward in his second stint then in the third and final segment we’re actually gonna hear from now former devil John Marino as he is set to play for the Utah Hockey Club because Marino talked about what it takes to have a winning culture within a team and I want to touch on that a little bit because some people are wondering are the Devils building a winning culture because somebody was saying like what does John Marino know about building a winning culture well he was a part of the Pittsburgh Penguins prior to joining the devils and he was teammates with Sydney Crosby one of the greatest hockey players to ever play this game some of his other Noble teammates are aghy Malin Chris leang Jake gansel I could go on but we’ll talk more about that in the third and final segment all right let’s talk about Jonathan kevich why do I want to talk about him well the Devils recently released a graphic talking about some of the assets that they obtained the last week or so and some people were clowning on Jonathan kovage being included in that said graphic and I just want to talk more about kova Sage’s game and also play some sound bites from his respective media availability because like I said I think kova Savage was an underrated guay for Tom Fitzgerald now before I talk about his game here’s what he had to say when asked about it during his press conference take a listen I uh think I play you know a hard defensive game I I take care of my own Zone first uh so a responsible game but also um make good breakout passes get the puck moving north um a big body use my reach to defend well use my body to defend um so yeah want to play a hard reliable game and be someone that the team can depend on back there all right let’s recap his 20123 2024 season with the montre Canadians and honestly these numbers might surprise you he had a point share rating of 3.3 which ranked eighth on the team he had a defensive point share rating of 2.7 that actually ranked first on the Canadians roster he had a plus minus rating of plus 11 first on the team blocks 83 fifth on the team I’ve been talking about on this show during the offseason that I think the Devils sort of struggled in the blocks category hits 75 eighth on the team and let’s go back just a little bit further shall we 2022 2023 in 77 game appearances he had 86 blocks 93 hits and 36 takeaways I touched on it in a prior episode but Jersey Joe AKA Joseph stanislaw of draft Pro Hockey was texting me and he said like expect some Big Blocks big hits from kovage and basically he’s replacing Kevin ball and he adds more depth to the roster and also kova Sage was pretty solid on the Canadians penalty kill so he can contribute on special teams for New Jersey I know kovage probably isn’t a bigname player I know he’s a player that not many people are familiar with but just looking back at his stats with the Canadians just this past season the fact that he is a depth asset for this Devil’s roster and he might not play in all the games it goes to show you how much better the blue line has gotten for New Jersey within the past few weeks because throughout the course of the season one of the main issues for Devils was the injury bug but also who replaces that said injured player when douge Hamilton went down when Jonas seen thaler went down the Devils were basically scrambling to find their Replacements they had to rely on a lot of young assets including shimo Nemitz and Fitzy revealed at his press conference that nemit was only supposed to suit up in about 10 games for the devils and injuries completely changed the course of action and they also had to rely on Luke Hughes Sant haaka just names like that in order to bolster the blue line and I think that was one of the biggest Achilles heels for New Jersey I think kova Savage has put up some very respectable numbers this past season with the Canadians and I think he is going to definitely add some more depth for the devils and the fact that like I said he’s not going to play in every single game it just goes to show you how much better the blue line has gotten now I had the chance to ask him how much potential does this team have now that he’s added to the roster here’s what he had to tell me you talked about your game personally but collectively how much potential does this unit have now that you’re added to the roster and did you notice anything from afar in the battles you’ve had against this Devil’s team yeah I I know that the way these Devils play it was a hard game to play against for us they they bring a lot of speed they’d bring a lot of skill um and now I’m a you know I’m part of that I’m grateful to be a part of that and I see the additions they’ve made on the blue line um in the last couple days and I’m really excited about that I think you know we’ve added a lot of defenseman that that are hard to play against that are good Defenders um and I’m really looking forward to being a part of that um you know being a Decor is something that you take a lot of pride in with you and the other defenseman and um I’m looking forward to you know the challenge of shutting down you know some of the other top teams around the league awesome that that’s it for me thank you so much thanks TR he’s absolutely right this team has a lot of potential and this team from afar was dangerous Unfortunately they could never stay healthy and I guess to close out this segment I just want to say don’t sleep on kova Savage I think if he’s given an opportunity to suit up in a decent amount of games for Devils he’s gonna make the most out of it like I said he can participate on the penalty kill racks up the blocks he led the Canadians in defensive point share he led the Canadians in plus minus who does that sort of remind me of all right it reminds me of Ryan Graves now let me just make something perfectly clear put down your phones before you call me out on social media just listen I am not saying that kovich is on the same level as Ryan grav but he’s showing some similar traits which is he knows how to play efficiently and Ryan Graves was always tops in the NHL in defensive point share and plus minus and that was one of the biggest issues that the Devils had this past season when they lost Ryan Grace in free agency to the Pittsburgh Penguins which is they didn’t have too many efficient defensemen that can focus more on the defensive side of things and not really the offense and I think kovage can kind of fill that Gap a little bit but obviously kova Sage’s main role is to replace Kevin ball and just add more depth because as we all know ball was utilized in the Jacob marstrom trade basically I just wanted to give you guys that small background information on Koba Savage I didn’t really do it all that much when I first talked about him because I had to break down three other players that were also add to the devil’s roster but I wanted to put a spotlight on kova Savage because like I said put up solid numbers with the Canadians he’s an efficient player he can play on special teams and he can rack up the hits the blocks and the takeaways don’t underestimate kova Savage and what he could potentially bring to the devil’s roster and if he’s able to repeat that same success that he saw with the Canadians then I think Fitzy found another gem all right we’re gonna talk about thas chatar momentarily but before we continue let me tell you guys about FanDuel I love sports I love them so much I never want them to stop but as the playoffs wind down we get fewer games and the sports aren’t sportsing like I want them to but FanDuel lets me keep the sports going whenever I want all I have to do is open up the app and dream up any bets anytime I’m in the mood and this summer FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily that’s right there’s something for everyone every day all summer long so head over to fanduel.com and start making the most of your summer FanDuel the official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball visit fanduel.com to look at the odds and please remember to always gamble responsibly okay let’s talk about Tomas Tatar and him returning to the Devils let’s break it down in even more detail like I said in a prior episode I think the main focus for Tatar is to replace the gold production of Alexander Holtz because Holtz was dealt away in the Paul cter trade and the Devils just need more scoring from other people not named Jack Hughes Jesper brat Nico heser Teemo Meyer just get more depth up and down your lineup combinations and Tatar comes at a cheap price he’s familiar with the organization and he was really good when he was on the same line as Dawson Mercer and Nico heser but the one factor that we have to include is that this is going to be a new coach for Tatar because as we all know he saw that success when Lindy Ruff was at the helm now it’s sheld and Keith and during his media availability Tatar talked about the potential new system for the Devils here’s what he had to share does it feel like you’re coming back to the same team with just some new personnel and a new head coach or does it feel like it’s going to be a new experience a little bit of both obviously you know coming back and having a a lot of the same teammates feels feels great and then on the other hand you know we have a new coach there might be a new system we’ll have to learn some stuff but you know I think everybody’s you know eager to learn and and then play hockey so I mean it’s going to be challenging but you know with the talent and the with the hard work what I know the guys you know it should be smooth so like I said I’m really looking for forward to Camp to start and then see where where everyone is and then like I said to to to do everything we can to to start right off I think for Tatar this go around in his second stint with the Devils his role is going to change a little bit Fitzy did say during his press conference that he’s gonna leave the lineup up to shelden Keefe so whether or not we see Tatar on the same line as heer and Mercer that is up to Sheldon Keefe and we’ll see how that pans out but Tatar doesn’t need to be the same player that he was a couple seasons ago he like I said he just needs to replace the gold production of Alexander Holtz while being efficient because Holtz was pretty good offensively but when it came to defense Puck handling some of those other tangibles he sort of struggled and it sometimes made it easy for Lindy Ruff to bench him even though people including myself said that give him just a little bit of a longer leash and maybe he will improve and at some point he will redeem himself but that’s what Tatar needs to focus on which is you are replacing the scoring productivity of Alexander Holtz and it’s GNA be interesting to see how Tatar fits into this new system because it is a different team it’s not the same team that the Devils had a couple seasons ago but I have no doubt in the back of my mind that tar is going to play somewhat of a decent role and I think another big thing that we need to factor in is that Tatar he has been in the league for a good while and one of the issues that the Devils had last season was that Unfortunately they were still one of the youngest teams in the NHL and people were using it as an excuse and I just said no they made the playoffs during the 2022 2023 season expectations are much higher I get they’re young I get they’re still developing I get that some players are still trying to find their niche in the NHL but but this team is a playoff caliber roster I asked Brendan Dylan about veteran leadership Bill Spalding asked Stephan n about veteran leadership and Spalding also asked Tatar about veteran leadership and how vital it is for this Devil’s roster take a listen you know a couple years ago you were one of a a very limited number of of vets and guys who’d been around for 10 plus years in the league on this team obviously the the group of guys that Fitzy went out and and signed this year involve a lot of veterans a lot of guys with experience how do you think adding that mix of Veteran leadership and guys who add some good stuff off the ice as well can can help this team well you know coming back to first time when I signed with the Devils you know it was a young team but even these these players you know they they got a lot of experience now you know we we went to the playoff you know we play some playoff hockey those guys become a superstars in the league and you know even even the younger group all of a sudden have a lot of experience but the additions what we what we add through the offseason are all the guys who had experience with a playoff hockey and uh that’s that that’s the full package you know all of a sudden means there it’s a lot of experience you know we have Andre you know who won few cups and um it’s just a good mix you know with the veterans and maybe younger players who now have the experience I mean the expectation are high and you know we have to we have to show it and like I said I believe everyone is very excited for a season to start I’ll tell you guys a fun fact during the 2022 2023 season Tatar was actually one of my favorite people to interview because he always went into great detail he was very insightful was he the best player no but he was certainly underrated if you ask me I think Tatar not only is going to have somewhat of a role on the sheet of ice but he’s also going to have a big role in the locker room because similar to what n said during his respective media availability it’s important to establish a team identity it’s important to establish a strong team culture if you want to see success and Tatar is going to play a role in that and I’m glad that Fitzy aside from adding needs for Devils he was also trying to look for players that have experience and can teach a thing or two to some of the young guys in the devil’s uh locker room it’s kind of weird to think this but he sure is entering what like year eight of being in the NHL Jack Hugh’s been in the league for a few years same with jper brat similar to what Mike Morel said on this show when he appeared before the draft we’re getting to a point where these young guys yes they are relatively young and age they’re starting to gain even more experience in the NHL and like I said ago the Devils being relatively young that can’t really be an excuse moving forward but I’m glad that tar was added to the mix to help out and when asked about the cohesiveness between him Mercer and heer here’s what he had to say I wanted to ask it but Bill beat me to it take a listen oh would really close you know on and off the ice um you know like I said I’ve been in touch with a lot of the guys even when we wer in teammates but it was just very easy you know me Nico and M were talking a lot you know off the ice you know how we can help each other more what can we do better to to become you know the best line or how we can you know help the team the most and it’s just you know everybody if someone had to say something you know or or you know bring something positive and helpful you know we were all listening so it was just you know very easy to play with these two and you know I’m just speaking for myself I really enjoyed you know the the line I mean obviously like I said it’s it’s it’s a new season it’s going to be a new cam and nothing is handed you have to earn everything so don’t really know how the lines will will be structured but uh like I said you know I really enjoyed my time with with these two and you know might be we might be playing together again we’ll see we’ll have to see like I said will Tatar play a decent Siz role on the devil’s roster will he have that same success that he had with heer just a couple seasons ago in which they had an expected goals percentage of 64.2% only time will tell but I think Tatar is still a solid addition for this Devil’s roster and I think the less you ask out of him the better he’ll do and keep in mind he did lead the Canadians in scoring a few years ago he’s been to the Stanley Cup Final albeit he didn’t really play that big of a role on the Canadians roster at that point but he still made it and he knows what it takes to get there and I think him Stephen n Brett pesy brandan Dylan guys who have been in the league for a while they can definitely teach these young guys a thing or two but like I said those young guys those Young Guns for Devils they’re starting to gain more NHL experience but I think they’re starting to form something special in New Jersey okay courtesy of my buddy Chase Beardsley over at the hockey Riders he’s actually appeared on this show before he asked John Marino who had his media availability for the Utah Hockey Club about having a winning culture in New Jersey here’s what he had to say I mean I think it starts with you know obviously the older guys kind of instilling that and the younger guys and you know kind of teach them the ropes and what makes you know a successful team culture you know how it’s just being an everyday Pro um going about your business every day I mean there it’s such a long season that you know can be groing and you know some of the younger guys you know coming from shorten Seasons or you know especially how competitive the league is now um it’s kind of all those little things that add up to you know having a winning culture now somebody asked me on Twitter and I’m not trying to call anyone out so I will leave this person Anonymous they pointed out and said he didn’t have a winning culture while here in Jersey the Devils made the playoffs one time while he was here and did not see the Eastern Conference Finals so what are we even talking about and the reason I’m addressing this is not to call that person out but it’s a legitimate question which is are the Devils building a winning culture and I would say that I think it varies person to person I think everyone has a different perspective on it but for my opinion I definitely do think that the devils are trying to build a winning culture are they going to be tile contenders are they going to be a dynasty five years from now we don’t know that yet but I think based on what Fitzy has been trying to do the last few years it’s clear that the Devils do want to win and it started off with getting douge Hamilton during the summer of 2021 the Devils were still projected to perform bad but getting douge Hamilton shifted things for New Jersey then come the off season in 2022 the Devils were trying to go big game hunting for players like uh Alex debrin CAD Kevin fala Matthew kachuck Johnny goodro unfortunately it didn’t work out but they did add Andre palot a guy who has had Stanley cup pedigree two cups with the lightning or Erika someone who has only played on playoff caliber rosters or Brendan Smith a guy who’s been in the league for a while not the best player but he’s been in the league for a while and then the Devils had a historic season going on a 13 game winning streak and then getting team oire at the deadline they get out of the first round against New York Rangers rangers blew a two nothing lead I think the Devils definitely are building a winning cold and this past season yes it was a disappointing one but I think it was a bit of a fluke just because the Devils were very injury-prone and the fact that they didn’t get mathematically eliminated from playoff contention until early April I think that says a thing or two about the team so yes I do think the devils are building a winning culture and look what Fitzy did during the course of the off season yes I’m sure a lot of people wanted Brady kachuck Jonathan marcheso Steven stos you name it but Fitzy focused on what do the Devils need they need more depth in terms of forwards defenseman and a better goal tending Tandem and that’s exactly what he did and he adds Sheldon Keefe to the mech Sheldon Keefe throughout his time as a head coach whether it’s been with the Maple Leaves or the Marley’s he does have a history of going to the playoffs he has a history of getting the best of of his top performers I think Keith was definitely a good hire for New Jersey yes the devils are definitely building a winning culture and they can only go up from here in my opinion like I said I don’t want to jump the gun on anything will they become Stanley Cup contenders will they be a threat out east will they be a threat in the Metro well I think they’re going to be a threat in the Metro but in terms of being title contenders only time will tell we’ll see what happens but I think John Marino is absolutely right and the devil’s definitely addressed some of those issues during the off season which is getting more veterans to help guide the the young players and John Marino did play a decent part in terms of defense for the devil’s historic season don’t forget that people were riding off John Marino and he had a good showing in terms of Defense the only reason why the Devils got rid of him was because they needed to make some room financially in order to get Brett pesy Brendan Dylan and a few others I think if the Devils only had to go after maybe a few other assets that were a little cheap like if they were just going after toas Shar Stephan n or Paul cter I think the Devils would have kept John Marino but Fitzy knew he needed to just upgrade it just a tad bit more and he did so in pesi and Dylan but let me know what you guys think do you think this Devil’s team is building a winning culture what do you think of kov Savage and are you happy that tar was added back to the roster I’m curious to hear your thoughts if you’re listening on podcast streaming service hit me up on my personal xpage app at trat 4 or the shows xpage app at lockon Devils if you’re watching on YouTube leave a comment down below asr’s episode that’s all the time I have for you continue to stay safe have a wonderful day New Jersey go Devils I’ll catch you guys next episode thanks for listening once again

In today’s episode, I dissected a few media availabilities. Jonathan Kovacevic is better than what people realize. He actually put up some solid numbers for the Montreal Canadiens. Tomas Tatar spoke to the media for the first time since returning to New Jersey. John Marino told the Utah media that the Devils organization is a winning culture.

Interview soundbites: Johnathan Kovacevic, Tomas Tatar, and John Marino (Courtesy of the New Jersey Devils and Utah HC)

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