Jean-Sébastien Dea

Jean-Sébastien Dea (born February 8, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who is currently under contract with Eisbaren Berlin in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He previously played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres, and Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career As a youth, Dea played in the 2007 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Saint-Laurent, Quebec. Dea played major junior hockey with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In his final two years in the QMJHL, Dea scored 45 and 49 goals respectively.

Dea went undrafted by teams in the National Hockey League (NHL). As a free agent he agreed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL on September 17, 2013. Dea made his pro debut for Pittsburgh's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, on April 19, 2014. Dea spent the 2014–15 season between the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL. He scored ten goals and 21 points for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, including his first professional goal on October 12 versus the Manchester Monarchs.

Nearing the conclusion of the 2016–17 regular season, Dea received his first recall from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to Pittsburgh on April 9, 2017. He made his NHL debut that night in the Penguins final regular season game, recording two penalty minutes in a 3–2 defeat to the New York Rangers. Dea was once again one of Pittsburgh's "Black Aces" during the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs. He scored his first NHL goal on January 23, 2018, against the Carolina Hurricanes. He was sent back to the AHL on January 26, 2018, after playing in four games. He finished the season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, scoring 18 goals and 50 points in 70 games.

Eventually, just before free agency on June 28, 2018, Dea re-signed with the Penguins for a year. During 2018 training camp, on September 28, Dea was claimed off waivers by the New Jersey Devils. After appearing in 20 games with the Devils, contributing with 3 goals and 5 points, Dea was again returned to waivers by the Devils. On November 29, Dea was re-claimed by the Penguins off waivers and was immediately re-assigned to the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He was later recalled after an injury to Dominik Simon

Dea contributed with 6 goals and 22 points in 26 games for the Penguins in the AHL, before his second stint with Pittsburgh was cut short as he was dealt at the trade deadline to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Chris Wideman on February 25, 2019. He began the 2019–20 season with the Sabres' AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. He was recalled and made his Buffalo debut on November 27 versus the Calgary Flames. He was returned to Rochester until being recalled again on January 31, 2019 to replace an injured Kyle Okposo. In his second season with the Sabres, the pandemic-shortened 2020–21 season he played one game with Buffalo and 15 games with Rochester. In the AHL, he scored six goals and 15 points.

Following the conclusion of his contract with the Sabres, Dea returned to Canada, agreeing a one-year, two-way contract with the Montreal Canadiens on July 28, 2021. Playing on a line with Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Dea took on a leadership role with the Rocket, on occasion being named one of the team's alternate captains. He led the Rocket with 26 goals and was second on the team with 52 points in 70 games.

On July 14, 2022, Dea was signed as a free agent to a two-year, two-way contract with the Arizona Coyotes. Shortly afterwards, on August 9, Dea signed a one-year contract with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Dea made 18 appearances with Metallurg, registering just 6 points before he was traded to fellow KHL outfit, HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk, on December 15, 2023.

In October 2025, Dea left Neftekhimik and joined Eisbaren Berlin in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).

Career statistics Regular seasonPlayoffs 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 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 43 10 11 21 16 4 0 0 0 2 2014–15 Wheeling Nailers ECHL 14 4 3 7 6 — — — — — 2015–16 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 75 20 16 36 36 10 0 0 0 18 2016–17 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 73 18 16 34 59 5 2 1 3 4 2016–17 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 1 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2017–18 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 70 18 32 50 69 3 0 1 1 0 2017–18 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 5 1 0 1 2 — — — — — 2018–19 New Jersey Devils NHL 20 3 2 5 6 — — — — — 2018–19 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 26 6 16 22 40 — — — — — 2018–19 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 3 1 0 1 2 — — — — — 2018–19 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 20 11 11 22 18 — — — — — 2019–20 Rochester Americans AHL 57 15 24 39 32 — — — — — 2019–20 Buffalo Sabres NHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2020–21 Rochester Americans AHL 15 6 9 15 4 — — — — — 2020–21 Buffalo Sabres NHL 1 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2021–22 Laval Rocket AHL 70 26 26 52 42 15 4 4 8 6 2022–23 Tucson Roadrunners AHL 67 23 27 50 42 3 0 1 1 2 2022–23 Arizona Coyotes NHL 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2023–24 Metallurg Magnitogorsk KHL 18 3 3 6 6 — — — — — 2023–24 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk KHL 27 7 4 11 8 — — — — — 2024–25 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk KHL 59 16 15 31 30 — — — — — 2025–26 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk KHL 16 1 2 3 6 — — — — —NHL totals 37 5 2 7 14 — — — — —KHL totals 120 27 24 51 50 — — — — —