Penguins Still Haunted by John Marino Trade

Despite a solid camp last year and a respectable nine game stint in the NHL during the season, Smith didn’t seem to have the same juice this time around.

Head coach Mike Sullivan noted that the move was based on logistics with traveling to Nova Scotia for their next preseason game, but performance did play a factor.

During the first week of training camp, Smith hasn’t been overly noticeable like he was last year; as a defenseman, not being noticed is usually a good thing, but he had plenty of eyes watching him.

This was the year Smith was really supposed to break in and be a regular with the Penguins; at just 23-years-old, there is still room for him to grow, but it hasn’t been a fun ride in Pittsburgh.

Prior to the 2022-23 season, then general manager Ron Hextall wanted something changed on the Penguins blue line and he decided to swap John Marino for Smith.

On the surface, the trade doesn’t seem horrible; both Marino and Smith are young defenders that have a ton of upside and a bright future in the league.

Hextall saw one bad season from Marino and decided he had seen enough and didn’t let him blossom in Pittsburgh.

The Penguins soon after had a salary cap issue and couldn’t even afford to keep Smith on the roster; he spent a vast majority of the 2022-23 season in the AHL.

Meanwhile, Marino had an outstanding season with the New Jersey Devils excelling as defensive juggernaut.

In 64 games played, Marino picked up four goals and 18 points but was a career-high plus-21 rating.

Again, Smith coasted in the AHL all season not showing his worth at the NHL level.

Smith is certainly worthy of the NHL and there has to be a team willing to bring him on and give him a real chance.

If this year’s camp had gone in a better direction, maybe Smith would still be fighting for a roster spot, but like Sullivan said, performances made the call.

While Marino is likely gearing up for another successful run with the Devils, Smith might not see a Penguins locker room again.