Jean-Sébastien Dea

Jean-Sébastien Dea
Born	(1994-02-08) February 8, 1994 Laval, Quebec, Canada
Occupation	Professional ice hockey centre
Known for	Playing in the NHL and KHL

Jean-Sébastien Dea (born February 8, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre currently signed with HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). His previous NHL experience includes playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres, and Arizona Coyotes.

Playing career

Dea developed his skills in major junior hockey with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), where he tallied 45 and 49 goals during his last two seasons. Despite going undrafted, he secured a three-year entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins on September 17, 2013. He began his professional career in April 2014 with Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and split the 2014–15 season between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers.

Throughout the entire 2015–16 campaign, Dea played exclusively for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, recording 20 goals and totaling 36 points across 75 games. During the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs, he was included in Pittsburgh’s "Black Aces" taxi squad. Toward the close of the 2016–17 season, Dea earned a call-up to Pittsburgh and made his NHL debut on April 9, 2017. He wrapped up that AHL season with 18 goals and 34 points.

In August 2017, Dea agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with Pittsburgh valued at $650,000. He netted his first NHL goal in January 2018 but spent the majority of that season in the AHL, where he amassed 18 goals and 50 points, earning Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Most Valuable Player honors.

Ahead of free agency in June 2018, Dea re-signed with Pittsburgh but was claimed off waivers by the New Jersey Devils during training camp. After appearing in 20 games for New Jersey—scoring three goals and five points—Pittsburgh reclaimed him off waivers in November and assigned him back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. In February 2019, Dea was traded to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Chris Wideman and joined their AHL team, the Springfield Thunderbirds, where he recorded 22 points over 20 games.

As a free agent on July 1, 2019, Dea inked a two-year, two-way deal with the Buffalo Sabres. He started with their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, while making occasional NHL appearances. The pandemic-shortened 2020–21 season saw him primarily compete in the AHL, registering six goals and 15 points.

Dea signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Montreal Canadiens in July 2021. Assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, he assumed a leadership role and led the team with 26 goals while placing second with a total of 52 points over 70 games.

On July 14, 2022, Dea agreed to a two-year, two-way contract with the Arizona Coyotes. He played four NHL games but spent most of his time with their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, scoring 23 goals and accumulating 50 points over 67 contests. In August 2023, Dea and Arizona mutually terminated his contract to explore opportunities abroad. Shortly thereafter, he signed a one-year agreement with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL. After tallying six points in 18 games, he was traded to fellow KHL team HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk on December 15, 2023.

Career statistics

  2018–19 NHL season     New Jersey Devils     NHL 20 3 2 5 6   |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"  2018–19 AHL season Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 26 6 16 22 40   |-   2018–19 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 3 1 0 1 2   |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"  2018–19 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 20 11 11 22 18   |-     2019–20 AHL season Rochester Americans AHL 57 15 24 39 32   |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 2019–20 NHL season Buffalo Sabres NHL 3 0 0 0 0   |-     2020–21 AHL season Rochester Americans AHL 15 6 9 15 4   |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 2020–21 NHL season Buffalo Sabres NHL 1 0 0 0 2   |-     2021–22 AHL seasonLaval Rocket AHL 70 26 26 52 42 15 4 4 8 6   |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 2022–23 AHL seasonTucson Roadrunners AHL 67 23 27 50 42 3 0 1 1 2   |-     2022–23 NHL seasonArizona Coyotes NHL 4 0 0 0 0   |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 2023–24 KHL seasonMetallurg MagnitogorskKontinental Hockey League KHL 18 3 3 6 6   |-     2023–24HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk KHL 27 7 4 11 8   |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" 2024–25 KHL season Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk KHL 59 16 15 31 30   |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2010–11	Collège Charles-L. Riverains	QMAAA		42	26	29	55	28		5	6	3	9	6
2011–12	Rouyn-Noranda Huskies	QMJHL		50	17	15	32	42		4	1	2	3	0
2012–13	Rouyn-Noranda Huskies	QMJHL		68	45	40	85	59		14	12	9	21	24
2013–14	Rouyn-Noranda Huskies	QMJHL		65	49	26	75	53		9	6	3	9	12
2013–14	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15 AHL season	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		43	10	11	21	16		4	0	0	0	2
2014–15 ECHL season	Wheeling Nailers	ECHL		14	4	3	7	6
2015–16 AHL season	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		75	20	16	36	36		10	0	0	0	18
2016–17 AHL season	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		73	18	16	34	59		5	2	1	3	4
2016–17 NHL season	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		1	0	0	0	2
2017–18 AHL season	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		70	18	32	50	69		3	0	1	1
2017–18 NHL season	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		5	1	0	1	2
NHL totals !37 !5 !2 !7 !14 !— !— !— !— !— |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"				KHL totals !104 !26 !22 !48 !44 !— !— !— !— !— | } External links