The New Jersey Devils entered the second day of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft with five draft picks. The team ended up making six picks after a plethora of trades. A couple of the deal consisted of picks only, moving down to recuperate later picks or picks in the future. However, two major trades saw the team send off some integral players to the team in the past seasons.
Let’s take a look at how the Devils did with those deals and analyze what they got in return.
Trade #1: John Marino Shipped To Utah
Early on Saturday, the Devils made a long-rumored move and traded defenseman John Marino. New Jersey shipped Marino to Utah, as well as a fifth-round pick (No. 153) in this year’s draft in exchange for a second-round pick (No. 49) in this year’s draft as well as a 2025 second-round pick from Edmonton. New Jersey used that No. 49 pick to select goaltender Mikhail Yegorov.
Marino has long-rumored to be the odd-man out as New Jersey is reportedly extremely interested in right-handed defenseman Brett Pesce who is slated to hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Marino, 27 years old, had a terrific debut-season with the Devils in 2022-23, posting on-ice defensive impacts in the league’s 93rd percentile. However, like many Devils, he took a step back in 2023-24, seeing that on-ice defense impact drop to the 58th percentile. He did get better on offensively, so, overall, his value was quite similar to 2023-24 this past season (4 goals above replacement in 2022-23 versus 3.3 in 2023-24). However, certainly was not the player people hoped him to be prior to last year.
To evaluate this trade overall, it would be best to recall what New Jersey had to give up to acquire Marino. Back in July of 2022, the Devils dealt young defenseman Ty Smith as well as a 2023 third-round pick in exchange for Marino. Smith, who struggled with the Devils, ended up only playing in nine NHL games with Pittsburgh before moving on. This year, the Devils got two second-round picks for Marino. So, overall, good asset management.
Marino has three more years left on his deal at $4.4 million. Like Pesce, he is also right-handed, thus the trade. The question of is Marino, at his worth, versus Pesce, at what his new contract may be, more valuable is a question that can be posed and discussed if a Pesce signing is indeed made. But, until then, the trade on the surface is a strong one.
Trade #2: Devils Call It Quit on Holtz, Schmid
Certainly the surprise of the day, was the Devils dealing two younger players to Vegas for a pick and depth forward. New Jersey announced that forward Alexander Holtz and goaltender Akira Schmid was traded to Vegas in exchange for forward Paul Cotter and a 2025 third-round pick.
Moving Schmid makes sense. After a terrific 2022-23 where he posted a .922 save percentage and 8.47 goals saved above expected, as well as leading the Devils past the Rangers in the playoffs, Schmid has struggled mightily. This season, he was unable to seize the backup goaltending role, as he was slated to do, posting a -2.01 goals saved above expected and .895 save percentage in the NHL, coupled with a .894 save percentage in the AHL.
He was also a restricted free agent, needing a new contract at age 24 with several goalies in the Devils’ system needing play time. Moving on from him is the right decision, all things considered.
As for Holtz, it has certainly been a tumultuous stint since being drafted seventh overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. In 110 career games, Holtz has posted 34 points (19 goals). He did pot 16 last season, while playing only 11:38 of ice time per night. However, the rest of his game, especially defensively, left a lot to be desired. This was made publicly known on several occasions by both former head coach Lindy Ruff as well as general manager Tom Fitzgerald.
Holz seems like the textbook situation where the public and fans overvalue him tremendously in comparison to the team and others around the league. Evidence of this is the previously mentioned public scrutiny by his head coach and general manager, a report saying that the Sharks did not want him in the trade for Timo Meier, and him even getting left off Team Sweden. He simply just has not gotten it done thus far in his NHL career.
The potential issue with this move is the question; would the value of Holtz potentially figuring it out in 2024-25 outweigh the package the Devils got and the chance he performs similarly to how he did in the past? The Devils apparently believe the former, as they decided to admit defeat and that the pick back in 2020 was a mistake. Something that many general managers and staffs are not able to do. Fortunately, Fitzgerald did that in this situation.
On the flip side, the Devils did acquire 24-year-old forward Paul Cotter. Cotter has 138 NHL games under his belt, with 45 points. He is your prototypical power forward who loves to throw his body around. this is evident by posting 168 hits in only 55 games in 2022-23 and 233 in 2023-24 (17th-most in the NHL). His defensive on-ice impacts last season were pretty solid; ranking in the league’s 68th percentile during the 2023-24 season; really his first full year in the NHL. For those curious, he did not play on the penalty kill.
Cotter is slated to be under contract at $775,000 this season, and next year, before becoming a restricted free agent following the 2025-26 season. He plays the right wing position, with some center experience, but has only taken 78 faceoffs in his career (47.4% success rate). He likely fills a need on the Devils fourth line forming a very strong defensive duo with Curtis Lazar.
Final Thoughts
It was certainly a hectic day on Saturday for the New Jersey Devils. The team subtracted three players who played large roles on the team the last couple seasons. In addition, they were able to get future draft capital, fill a need on the fourth line, and continue to increase their cap space ahead of July 1’s beginning of free agency. According to CapFriendly, the Devils have the 13th-most space in the league at $19,792,770. They also now own seven picks in next season’s draft after entering the day with five.
Keep an eye out for our draft recap and team needs articles releasing over the next couple days. As always, we will continue to have coverage of everything Devils-related across our social media pages in the coming days and months.