Marino Trade Looking Like An All-Time Heist For Devils GM Fitzgerald
Ty Smith looks like he is having a fine start to his season playing defense for the AHL Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins. Who knows, maybe one day the 22-year old will prove why he was selected No. 17 overall in the 2018 NHL Draft by New Jersey.
John Marino, meanwhile, has been the missing link for the red-hot Devils, winners of ten consecutive games following Tuesday’s 5-1 rout at Montreal. The streak is the third-longest in franchise history.
The two defensemen. who were traded for each other in the offseason along with New Jersey’s third-round pick in the 2023 Draft, might be forever linked as the biggest fleece of Devils’ General Manager Tom Fitzgerald’s executive career.
The media’s three stars for Tuesday’s contest featured the Devils’ biggest names—center Jack Hughes with two goals and an assist; defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who added a goal and a helper; and, of course, their goaltender Vitek Vanecek, who thankfully did not experience any concussion symptoms from last Thursday’s collision with Ottawa defenseman Thomas Chabot because he was needed to stand on his head in making 15 saves during a scoreless first period.
Overlooked amongst New Jersey’s shiniest stars was the play of Marino, who was simply outstanding in his efforts to keep the speedy Canadiens at bay over his 22:16 of ice time. When the game was tight, he thwarted a pair of golden Montreal chances, including a spectacular play in the first period defending a 2-on-1 pass that was intended for Montreal sniper Cole Caufield, who was all set to blast the puck into an open net if not for Marino’s deft poke that sent it away harmlessly into the left corner.
During a third period sequence where Caufield again figured he had a step on a rush after a failed pinch by defense partner Ryan Graves, Marino was able to get back and across to lean on the dangerous winger and knocked him to the ice. On a subsequent penalty kill, Marino anticipated a pass near the blue line and used his body to shield a Montreal defender so could push forward for a Devils shorthanded counterattack. When they didn’t convert, he had to race back over 150 feet so he could continue defending on the PK, blocking another slot shot in the process.
So call it poetic justice that Marino sealed the game with an empty-netter with four seconds remaining on a shot from back in the Devils faceoff circle. Though it was only his second tally of the season (his career high is six goals during his rookie season of 2019-20), you can’t understate his importance to the Devils’ offense with the manner in which he can break up opponents’ plays and then transition the puck with either his skating or passing.
Marino has been a godsend for a team that lost its defensive identity shortly after its last Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2012. Fitzgerald brought in several other veterans with extensive playoff resumes in the offseason, like Vanecek and injured wing Ondrej Palat, to try to end a stretch that has seen one playoff game victory in these last 10 years. I’d argue that Marino has been the most impactful of the additions, even over the surprisingly effective Vanecek. Though both play the right side, Marino has climbed over $63 million man Dougie Hamilton to grab the team lead in total ice time
And let’s not forget that Devils Head Coach Lindy Ruff has tried to match Marino up with the opponents’ top scorers. Marino played 12:37 against Edmonton’s two-time Hart Trophy recipient Connor McDavid, 19:46 against Colorado superstar Nathan McKinnon, and 8:51 against Washington icon Alex Ovechkin, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. All told, Marino was on the ice for one goal against at all strengths.
Much of the preseason talk surrounding the Devils pertained to their goaltending situation, since you might think that the GOAT Martin Brodeur put a hex in the crease from all the bad fortune that followed his departure in 2014. Last season, the Devils needed seven different goalies due to a deluge of injuries. Obviously, not all of them were NHL caliber.
The theory then went that if New Jersey could just get average play from their netminders, that might be enough to make them interesting this season. Well, no one predicted an alternative development whereby the Devils could simply limit the chances against before pucks reached their goalies. New Jersey is allowing just 24.5 shots on goal per game, the fewest in the league by almost two shots. Sure, there are nights where the team needs a pick-me-up in the form of big saves like they’ve been getting from Vanecek during his own personal eight-game winning streak, but it’s immensely helpful that the Devils are also first in expected goals against, per NST.
As one of two new defensemen in the everyday lineup along with Brendan Smith, who has been a bit shaky in his 13 minutes per game in average ice time. Marino deserves a lion’s share of the credit for the unit’s turnaround. His positioning is so sound, whether it’s in ending plays along the walls or staying on the right side of pucks defending the net front. When Ruff talks about “puck management”, he really means not turning it over in dangerous areas. Among the 90 defensemen in the league who have been averaging at least 20 minutes of ice time per game this season, Marino ranks sixth in fewest giveaways per 60 minutes, per NHL.com.
Fitzgerald was fortunate that his former employer Pittsburgh was in a bit of a salary cap crunch with stars Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang needing new contracts this past offseason. Considering that the Penguins were reportedly a bit disappointed in Marino’s progress, moving his $4.4 million AAV through the 2026-27 season in exchange for a skilled young player in obvious need of a new environment like Smith made sense for them.
In fact, multiple experts from The Athletic at the time graded the trade as even, with both teams earning a B-plus. Whoops.