Breaking down the New Jersey Devils' draft weekend trades

Tom Fitzgerald made a pair of big trades on Saturday. Let's take a closer look.

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Trader Tom Fitzgerald was back in full force on Saturday, pulling off a pair of significant moves with Western Conference teams.

Let’s waste no time diving into the two-pack of deals.

On the Marino trade

Brett Pesce signing with the New Jersey Devils is as inevitable as the team conceding the first goal during the 2023-24 campaign. It’s happening and there’s nothing that can be done about it.

Given as much, trading Marino was a forgone conclusion. The Devils weren’t going to trade Dougie Hamilton, whose presence they severely missed a season ago, and they certainly weren’t going to trade stud up-and-comer Simon Nemec.

Unless Fitzgerald wanted to spend big money on someone playing out of position, Marino was the odd man out by default. And that’s fine!

I like Marino – and think he’ll bounce back in Utah – but Pesce is better at the same role and brings more sturdiness to the blueline, which should help the Devils better defend the net front. He’s also a desperately needed ace penalty killer.

A pair of 2nd round picks might feel light on the surface but I think it’s a pretty good return. The Devils used this year’s to draft the No. 1 rated goaltender in the class and they are now in possession of three for next year.

That’s plenty of useful ammunition for when they inevitably look to add a meaningful player at the deadline to bolster the squad for the playoffs.

Taking the big picture view makes things look pretty good too. Ty Smith was downright horrendous in his last year with the Devils and only played nine games with the Penguins before they moved on. Essentially, the team traded a 3rd round pick and an AHLer for Marino.

They were able to get two full seasons from Marino logging ~21 minutes a night. They then flipped him for a pair of 2nd rounders and will use the money freed up (plus some extra) to sign his replacement.

On the Holtz trade