Grading New Jersey Devils’ 2022 Offseason Additions Prior to Playoffs
Devils trade Ty Smith, pick for John Marino
With P.K. Subban’s retirement, and the Devils’ apparent lack of interest in retaining him, New Jersey had a pretty big hole on the right side of their defense. Dougie Hamilton was coming off of a season where he missed a ton of time thanks to injuries, and Damon Severson was heading into a contract year with no long-term future evident. With Ryan Graves also scheduled to hit the market in 2023, the immediate future of the Devils’ blueline was in disarray.
The Devils made use of a struggling prospect in Ty Smith and turned him into an everyday NHL defenseman in John Marino, at the added cost of a mid-round pick. Oh, and Marino is only 25 with a $4.4m AAV signed through 2027.
John Marino (NJ6) stepped it up, although the Devils ultimately lost, in NJ's 6-3 loss to WSH.
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) October 25, 2022
He had two primary assists with a 74% xGF%, playing lots of shorthanded time too.
Here are his most notable plays and puck touches from last night. #NJDevils #NHLPotN pic.twitter.com/t5ailVDTbL
Smith can still be a good player, and he performed well when given the opportunity, but moves like this are probably why Pittsburgh fired GM Ron Hextall. Smith was mostly an AHL defenseman in 2022-23, and Marino was a defensive stalworth for the Devils.