I would argue that Kovacevic had the same amount of brain farts as Guhle, Arber, Struble and the rest of the young D. The difference is fans expectations.
No one expects Kovacevic to be more than a bottom pairing D man. So his errors are glossed over as it being part of his capability.
The young crew doesnt get the same rope because fans expect a high potential, and expect them to reach it fairly quickly.
I am not sure how many times it needs to be said, but it's not very common for D men to be completely reliable in their very early 20s.
The same amount? He would have never been a +14 (as well as a plus player the entirety of his pro career) if he had the same amount of brain farts as the rest of them.
There's a reason Kovacevic had a very good WAR when he was with us. And it's not cause he was making mistakes constantly. You're taking a lot away from how reliable he actually is.
And it's not like he's getting easy minutes. In Montreal and so far in New Jersey, he's been heavily used in defensive zone starts. Super small sample size so far in New Jersey, but he's started over 85% of his shifts in the defensive zone at even strength. Absolutely nutty.
Also - I don't expect anything from Barron really. I hated the trade that brought him here from the start because he's not a defenseman I ever thought too highly of. He's had glimpses because he has some incredible tools.. but he's got no toolbox to put them in.
He was a healthy scratch on a bottom 5 team, a very poor man’s Ben Chiarot. Maybe he sold his soul to the Devils and is suddenly legitimate Top 4 but he was never going to be part of the future. Remember when Joel Hanley got 6 pts in 10 games and was going to be our savior at D? Let’s circle back in 2 months.
The difference is.. I saw this player in Montreal. But I was pretty adamant about Kovacevic.. so to see him starting off this well is absolutely not a shock to me.
I'm content enough with my opinions to know I've been massively wrong before (l thought Mathieu Aubin would make the league lolol) but so has every single poster here and every single GM in the NHL.