While Smith is an intriguing addition, the key to the trade for Pittsburgh might very well be the financial flexibility gained. Nevertheless, he’s certainly young enough to rebound not unlike Marino did last season. However, things certainly did not go well last season as his production dropped to 20 points in 66 contests while his defensive metrics took a tumble. If he departs next summer, Marino could simply take Severson’s spot behind Dougie Hamilton on their depth chart which is likely the stability for roster flexibility that Fitzgerald spoke of in his statement.Īs for Smith, the 22-year-old was a first-round pick of the Devils back in 2018 (17th overall) and made a very strong first impression in his rookie year in 2020-21 when he picked up 23 points in 48 games while averaging over 20 minutes a game himself.
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A right-shot rearguard, Marino also gives them some insurance on the right side with Damon Severson a year away from unrestricted free agency. In Marino, New Jersey gets a defender that is capable of playing top-four minutes now as evidenced by the fact that he has averaged over 20 minutes per contest over each of his three NHL seasons.
He struggled in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign before rebounding a little bit last season, recording a goal and 24 assists in 81 games while still logging over 20 minutes a night, a number that jumped to over 23 minutes per contest in their first-round playoff loss to the Rangers. However, things didn’t go as well for Marino and the Penguins since then. So much so, in fact, that then-GM Jim Rutherford handed Marino a six-year, $26.4MM contract back in January of 2021, a deal that still has five years remaining. Pittsburgh had acquired his rights from Edmonton in the 2019 offseason for a sixth-round pick and that type of immediate return was quite impressive. The 25-year-old Marino made an immediate impact in his rookie season back in 2019-20, recording 26 points in 56 games. This is another move focused on improving our club today, while also providing certainty and stability for roster flexibility as we continue to build. He takes pride in his game away from the puck and his puck management and ability to transition play will fit in nicely with our style and the strengths of our forward group. John is a competitive, highly mobile defenseman who strengthens our back end. Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald released the following statement: The Devils and Penguins have swapped defensemen as New Jersey has acquired defenseman John Marino from Pittsburgh in exchange for blueliner Ty Smith and a 2023 third-round pick.
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