<p>The New Jersey Devils have acquired John Marino from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Ty Smith and a 2023 third-round draft pick.</p>



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<p>Marino is entering the second year of a six-year contract that carries a $4.4 million AAV cap hit. The 2015 sixth-round pick is a solid two-way defenseman that excels in his own end of the rink. The 25-year-old is capable of racking up points as well, averaging 27 points (4G / 23A) per 82-games through his first three NHL seasons.</p>



<p>Smith is in the final year of his three-year, entry-level contract ($863.3K AAV). The 22-year-old was a first-round pick (No.17 overall) in 2018 but seemed to take a step backward in 2022. After playing 20:07 ATOI in his rookie campaign, the Devils’ coaching staff didn’t have the same level of trust in him a season ago (17:30 ATOI). Smith can post terrific offensive totals and is an asset on the power-play. However, his defensive game still needs a lot of work.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="162"></div>



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Filthy overtime winner from Drake Batherson <a href="https://t.co/gLQUK6ThJa">pic.twitter.com/gLQUK6ThJa</a></p>— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) <a href="https://twitter.com/BradyTrett/status/1519132925706481666?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 27, 2022</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p>The Penguins added Jan Rutta in free agency, making Marino a little more expendable. Acquiring Smith gives them a defenseman with potentially more upside and adding a third-round pick makes it a little more low-risk/high-reward for General Manager Ron Hextall. The trade also frees up $3.54M in cap space for the Penguins to sign a forward. </p>
