The New Jersey Devils announced early Saturday afternoon that they acquired defenseman John Marino. In return, New Jersey sent defenseman Ty Smith and a 2023 third-round draft selection back to the Pittsburgh Penguins. This it the second noteworthy trade general manager Tom Fitzgerald has made since the offseason began. The first being acquiring goaltender Vitek Vanecek from Washington.
Who is John Marino?
Marino is a Massachusetts native who is listed at six-foot-one and 181 pounds. He was drafted in the sixth round by Edmonton back in 2015. The 25-year-old has played each of his three NHL seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Marino was rewarded with a six-year deal worth $4,400,000 annually before the 2021-22 season. So, he has five more years at that $4,400,000 salary remaining. Marino does have a modified no-trade clause kicking in during the 2024-25 season. Regardless, as you will see below, a very friendly price for a young defenseman.
The Numbers
You’ll quickly come to see Marino is a top-four defenseman. Since entering the league, he has averaged more than 20:00 of ice time each season. So, he is used to playing tougher, top-four minutes. He has averaged 28 points per an 82-game season over his first three seasons. As for hits and blocked shots, he has averaged about 93 and 84, respectively, over an 82-game schedule. He also really does not shoot the puck much, as his 82-game rate of 90 shots per season indicates such.
His analytics really paint a picture of an effective defenseman. As the above indicates, since his entrance into the league, Marino has been terrific in his own end. He does extremely well a suppressing opponents chances. Also, a defenseman that takes very little penalties and draws a good number of them.
For comparisons sake, of a grouping of Ryan Graves, John Klingberg, Damon Severson, and P.K. Subban, John Marino’s total goals above replacement per 60 minutes ranks the best. His on-ice impacts throughout his career have been impressive. All while playing tougher top-four minutes.
More numbers that show how effective Marino is are his micro statistics. This basically brings the above strong on-ice defensive impacts all together. It answers the question of what elements specifically of Marino’s game helps him be so strong defensively. As the above point out, he excels in transition. He does a good job entering and exiting the zone, both for himself and generating them for his teammates. He also does well suppressing opponents from doing so cleanly. Just an all-around excellent defensive defenseman.
The Contract
As mentioned above, the Marino contract has five years left on it at $4,400,000. He is in Newark for the long haul. Last year, Dom Luszczyszyn of the Athletic valued Marino at an average annual salary of $4,200,000. So, despite being slightly off, the contract is about worth the play Marino turned in last season. At his age, one would expect for this contract to age without issue.
Ty Smith
The major asset the Devils gave up in return for Marino is young defenseman Ty Smith. Smith’s struggles last season were well documented. There was several times during the season where a goal against can be directly linked back to either something Smith did or his play. His on-ice analytics were so poor that his total goals above replacement (GAR) of -5.7 ranked 323 of 337 NHL defenseman. It was a disastrous sophomore campaign for the right-handed defenseman.
A lot of individuals are referring to Smith’s struggles last season as a sophomore slump. Sure, did Ty Smith take a step back from his rookie season? Yes, he did. However, his play his rookie season appears to be largely overstated by many. As the above player card points out, Smith also struggled, especially defensively, his rookie season.
Offensively, where he was so heralded, Smith did end up having a pretty decent offensive season on the surface. However, as the expected offensive GAR bar shows, his actual offensive play may not have exactly been as good as it looked. No doubt Smith took a step back last season. However, do not make any mistake about it, his rookie season was not exactly great either.
Now, as a former 17th overall pick, there is still a real chance that he figures it out. At his best, Smith could be a solid, transition offensive defenseman. However, with what his play has indicted thus far, that is nowhere near the sure thing many thought it may have been when he was drafted in 2018.
Of course, the last asset of the deal was a 2023 third-round draft pick. This is the first pick the Devils have traded away for next season. They also do not own any other team’s selections next season. So, as it stands, they have six selections next season.
What This Mean Next?
As it stands, the Devils have a strong defensive core on paper. It is also quite crowded. This as the below projected defensive pairs and depth depicts:
| Ryan Graves | Dougie Hamilton |
| Jonas Siegenthaler | Damon Severson |
| Brendan Smith | John Marino |
A full season of that group healthy, and the Devils should be in business. Further analysis into the deal also means Damon Severson, who is a pending unrestricted free agent at this upcoming season’s end, appears all but likely on his way out. Severson has been a terrific top-four defenseman for the Devils for a long time. However, it appears the Devils are building a roster that sees Severson walking at year’s end with Marino and Hamilton in the top four with Simon Nemec on his way as well.
Do the Devils move Severson now for a much needed elite top-six wing? Or, do they keep him for this season and let that terrific defensive group roll. The answer to this question likely comes down to if the Devils feel if any of their plethora of young defenseman are ready for a NHL role. Keep in mind, Brendan Smith has the capabilities to play either side. So, moving Severson vaults Marino into a rightful top-four role and the bottom pair now consists of Brendan Smith and one of Nemec, Bahl, Okhotiuk, Walsh, or Mukhamadullin.
It is worth pointing out that each Bahl and Okhotiuk had pretty poor on-ice impacts when they played last season. Bahl played in 17 games while Okhotiuk only five. Each posted negative GAR ratings. Now, given the way each play, fans appear to value them more than they should. But, at the end of the day either did anything last season that warrants trust in either receiving an everyday role this year. Of course things change, and they could have a terrific camp and turn into nice players. But, do not be so sure that is the right move.
Closing Thoughts
As we have grown accustomed to throughout his tenure, general manager Tom Fitzgerald made another solid move with this trade. At a reasonable price, the Devils landed a top-four defensive defenseman who excels in several areas of the ice that are necessary for a defenseman of Marino’s style to do so. In the trade, the Devils moved a player that still has a lot of question marks on what exactly he can become and a third-round pick. Not a large price to pay for a sure-fire top-four defenseman.
Of course, this trade brings other questions with it. What does this mean for Damon Severson? Is the extremely solid, two-way defenseman next to be traded? Will he be around for another season in the red and black a part of what looks to be a terrific defensive core? Only time will tell.
Note, analytics per Evolving Hockey.