New Jersey Devils trade John Marino to Utah Hockey Club

The Utah Hockey Club has been very busy in Las Vegas at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. After trading for defenseman Mikhail Sergachev earlier on Saturday morning, Utah has now also acquired defenseman John Marino from the New Jersey Devils. 

Utah received Marino and a 2025 fifth-round pick (No. 153) from the Devils in exchange for New Jersey’s 2024 second-round pick (No. 49) and a 2025 second-round pick from the Edmonton Oilers. 

Marino is a solid, young right-handed defenseman. The 27-year-old played in 75 games for the Devils in 2023-24, tallying 25 points (four goals, 21 assists) and a minus-6 rating. He played nearly 21 minutes per game, often in a top-pairing role due to the injury to Dougie Hamilton. 

In his five-year NHL career, Marino has played 328 regular-season games with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Devils. He has 107 points (18 goals, 89 assists) and a plus-38 rating during that span. 

The North Easton, Massachusetts native has 29 Stanley Cup Playoff games under his belt. He played 17 playoff games for the Penguins from 2020 to 2022. His deepest playoff run came in 2023 when he played 12 games during the Devils’ run to the second round after knocking off the New York Rangers. Marino had four assists during that run and has recorded six assists in the playoffs during his career. 

The Devils missed the playoffs in 2023-24, finishing seventh in the Metropolitan Division and 13th in the Eastern Conference with a 38-39-5 record. 

Marino was originally drafted by the Oilers in the sixth round (No. 154) of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. He was traded to Pittsburgh in 2019 and to New Jersey for Ty Smith in July 2022. 

The Utah Hockey Club drafted forward Tij Iginla on Friday with the first pick in their new franchise’s history.