30 NHL stars who could be traded this offseason

28. John Marino, New Jersey Devils

The New Jersey Devils just traded one of their young defensemen in the Jacob Markstrom deal. Kevin Bahl was one of the main pieces in the Taylor Hall deal of 2019, and the team developed him into the player he became, which is a serviceable everyday defenseman. Now, he’s going to do that in Calgary. Would the Devils be willing to part with another younger defenseman as they try to rebuild the unit after a rough 2023-24?

John Marino was one of the best shutdown defensemen in 2022-23, but he had an off-year last season. There’s speculation he was dealing with some gnarly injuries, which would explain why he was on the ice for so many goals. He wasn’t necessarily having trouble with positioning like his partner Jonas Siegenthaler. He seemed like he was tentative to make moves with this stick or his body, which is often a sign of an injury.

As we look at the Devils' right side, they have Marino, a returning Dougie Hamilton (who also dealt with serious injuries that ended his season in December), and a sophomore former second-overall pick Simon Nemec. The Devils clearly have pieces to solidify the right side for a long time if they want, but they also have prized right-handed prospect Seamus Casey waiting in the wings. 

Would it make sense to trade Marino now for a decent return and sign a cheaper right-handed defenseman to play the third pairing? The Devils have big decisions to make this offseason with their blue line.