We have a trade.
According to an official announcement from the Pittsburgh Penguins, they have just completed a trade with the New Jersey Devils that will see 3 pieces on the move. The deal will see defenseman Ty Smith and a 2023 third round draft selection coming to Pittsburgh in exchange for defenseman John Marino who is headed back the other way to New Jersey.
In Smith the Penguins get a 22 year old former first round pick (17th overall) who was selected by the Devils at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. Since being drafted by the Devils, Smith has appeared in 2 NHL regular seasons with his most recent campaign for the Devils featuring 66 games this past season. The young defenseman had 5 goals and 15 assists for a total of 20 points on the season for the Devils.
Meanwhile in Marino the Devils will get a 25 year old veteran defenseman who is coming the busiest season of his NHL career. Marino appeared in 81 games, his previous high was just 56, for the Penguins last season and had 1 goal and 24 assists for a total of 25 points.
The move from the Penguins side of the equation appears to be designed to be a cap clearing move on the part of Penguins general manager Ron Hextall. While the Penguins will inherit Smith's cap hit of $863,333 on the final year of his entry level deal, they do so while shedding Marino's cap hit of $4.4 million for a cap savings of $3,536,667.
