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The New Jersey Devils have added more defensive teeth after acquiring John Marino from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Ty Smith and a 2023 third-round pick.
The deal was reached Saturday, according to NHL.com. Marino had 25 points in 81 regular season games for the Penguins last season. He also registered an assist in seven Stanley Cup playoff games.
Marino has five seasons remaining on the six-year, $26.4 million contract he signed with the Penguins on Jan. 3, 2021.
“John is a competitive, highly mobile defenseman who strengthens our back end,” Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald said. “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. This is another move focused on improving our club today, while also providing certainty and stability for roster flexibility as we continue to build.”
Marino is the latest player to be dealt by the Penguins. After going 27-46-9 last season, Pittsburgh started with other deals. That included the acquisition of goaltender Vitek Vanecek from the Washington Capitals on July 8 in exchange for picks in the 2022 NHL Draft.
This was followed by the deal involving forward Erik Haula, who was traded to the Boston Bruins in exchange for forward Pavel Zacha Wednesday, The Athletic reported.
In their latest trade deal, the Penguins acquired Smith, a former first-round pick during the 2018 NHL Draft. This season, the 22-year-old defenseman has accumulated 43 points in 114 games. The 17th overall pick of the 2018 NHL Draft will become a restricted free agent next season.
“We have high hopes for Ty,” Penguins general manager Ron Hextall said. “We gave up John Marino for him, who’s a very, very good NHL player. There’s a little risk on our part there, but we feel pretty good about it. We’ve got a lot of defensemen (nine) right now, so we’ll see how things play out with Ty. He doesn’t need waivers, so we do have that option. But until training camp comes and we see what we have and how guys perform, we’ll make those decisions when they’re appropriate.”
Other acquisitions of the Penguins on Saturday were Jeff Petry and forward Ryan Poehling. Both were acquired following a trade with the Montreal Canadiens that also involved defenseman Mike Matheson and a fourth-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Photo: Getty Images | Emilee Chinn
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