New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald, in a free agency news conference announcing several acquisitions on Friday, told reporters he was still in the market for a veteran defenseman. On Saturday, he cashed in on that quest, dealing a 2023 third-round draft choice along with Ty Smith to the Pittsburgh Penguins for John Marino.
Marino, 25, can play on the right side for New Jersey -- a clear position of need for a club that failed to make the playoffs last season -- and he has five years left on a deal that carries a team-friendly salary-cap hit of $4.4 million.
