Maple Leafs a likely landing spot for Devils defenseman John Marino

Yesterday, podcast host Dan Powers revealed that the Devils are the most likely team to land pending UFA defenseman Brett Pesce. In doing so, the Devils are expected to explore the trade market for John Marino to free up cap space and a spot on the right side for Pesce. Marino has 3 years left on his current deal that carries a $4.4M cap hit and could be of interest to the Leafs to bolster the right side of their blueline.

The 27-year-old was acquired by the Devils during the 2022 off-season from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Ty Smith and a 2023 third-round pick.

In 75 games with the Devils last season, Marino had 4 goals and 25 points and while he isn't the high-profile defenseman many Leaf fans want to see the Leafs acquire, he'd provide the Leafs with cap certainty and will come at a lower cost cap-wise than some of the free agent right-shot defensemen.

With the Devils already having Dougie Hamilton and Simon Nemec on the right side, moving Marino seems to be the obvious scenario for the Devils. Marino does have a modified no-trade clause so he does have some say in where he goes, but the acquisition cost should not be exorbitantly high if the Devils are attempting to create some cap space for Pesce. The Athletic's Kevin Papetti suggests that this could be a good fit for both sides.