{"id":402255,"date":"2026-01-11T20:15:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T20:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/402255\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T20:15:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T20:15:13","slug":"devils-activate-evgenii-dadonov-johnathan-kovacevic-from-injured-reserve-pro-hockey-rumors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/402255\/","title":{"rendered":"Devils Activate Evgenii Dadonov, Johnathan Kovacevic From Injured Reserve \u2013 Pro Hockey Rumors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ahead of their matinee action this afternoon in Winnipeg, the New Jersey Devils announced that<\/a> forward Evgenii Dadonov<\/a> and defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic<\/a> have been activated off injured reserve.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During what has become a tumultuous time in Newark of late, the news comes as not much of a surprise. Yesterday it was revealed that<\/a> Kovacevic was nearing a return, and nine-million-dollar man Dougie Hamilton<\/a> would be bumped out of the lineup, which has become a major story. As expected, Kovacevic will form a second pairing with Jonas Siegenthaler<\/a>, while Hamilton, a 74-point getter in 2022-23, will watch from the press box as the club looks for a real solution for the 32-year-old.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Kovacevic, New Jersey gets back a steady righty standing at 6\u20195\u201d. The defender suffered a knee injury in game three of last year\u2019s first round playoff matchup with Carolina, where the Devils ended up being dispatched in five games. Kovacevic underwent successful knee surgery in May<\/a>, and finally, is set to return today.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Acquired from Montreal for a fourth round pick, where he figured to be a solid bottom pairing option, Kovacevic was a strong fit in New Jersey prior to the injury. In his first campaign as a Devil, the 28-year-old set career highs in games played (81) and ice time, averaging 19:49 per game, making an impact on the penalty kill as a dependable stay-at-home defender capable of clearing the crease with his imposing size.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kovacevic earned an extension for five years worth $4MM per season, signed last March. Just a few years ago, the idea of him actually replacing Hamilton in the lineup would seem inconceivable, but after faltering play and issues behind the scenes, the Devils opt for more consistency in a similar frame between Kovacevic and Hamilton. The emergence of skilled youngsters Luke Hughes<\/a> and Simon Nemec<\/a> has especially narrowed the path forward for Hamilton, even if the veteran was not struggling so much.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Dadonov has also been absent for a considerable time, last in the lineup in late November. The 36-year-old has not had a smooth campaign so far, injuring his hand in his Devils debut and missing time, then only getting back in for four games before another injury. Inked to a one year deal last summer worth $1MM, the Russian has not recorded a point in five games so far, with limited ice time, 11:04 a night, the fewest he\u2019s seen since returning to the NHL in 2017-18 as a standout.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thankfully, the versatile scorer will return in a favorable role, expected to slot in alongside Dawson Mercer<\/a> and Timo Meier<\/a> on the second line. Due to the various injuries, Dadonov hasn\u2019t yet had a chance to contribute, but with the team\u2019s season unraveling a bit, and his status as a pending UFA who will turn 37 in March, his future as a Devil seems uncertain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dealing with difficulties off the ice, New Jersey will finally have a relatively healthy lineup this afternoon as they\u2019ll look to turn the corner against Winnipeg, a club also desperate to get on track after higher hopes to start the season. Today\u2019s game will be telling to see how the Devils\u2019 group responds after their last three games, outscored 16-2, and a former star now out of the mix.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ahead of their matinee action this afternoon in Winnipeg, the New Jersey Devils announced that forward Evgenii Dadonov…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":402256,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5109],"tags":[201,4219,5,1771,576,151,5185,5184,4,405],"class_list":{"0":"post-402255","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-jersey-devils","8":"tag-devils","9":"tag-evgenii-dadonov","10":"tag-hockey","11":"tag-johnathan-kovacevic","12":"tag-new-jersey","13":"tag-new-jersey-devils","14":"tag-newjersey","15":"tag-newjerseydevils","16":"tag-nhl","17":"tag-transactions"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115878305761391999","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=402255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/402255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/402256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=402255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=402255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=402255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}