3. John Marino
Remaining contract: 3 years, $13.2 million
During Day 2 of the NHL Draft, the Devils traded John Marino to the Utah Hockey Club for two second-round picks. It was a pretty decent return for a defenseman who was about to be replaced in free agency. At this point, the Brett Pesce rumors were incredibly loud, and it seemed like the Devils were going to have a cluster on the right side. So, they added assets, and they got Martin Brodeur the goalie he wanted in Mikhail Yegorov.
This deal is looking like Fitzgerald might have known something before the deal went down. Marino had been dealing with multiple injuries last season, which explained some of his drop in play. This season, those injuries really caught up with him. He hasn’t played a game for Utah yet.
Marino had back surgery in October after trying to rehab himself back into the lineup. Marino is expected to return sometime this season, but who knows what he’s going to look like after back surgery.
Utah heads into the Christmas break on the outskirts of the playoff picture, but they are very much competitive. Marino could return to the lineup in time to help the new franchise make a playoff push. However, at this moment, the UHC is regretting this trade.