Penguins Trade John Marino to the New Jersey Devils for Ty Smith

Penguins general manager Ron Hextall spoke about his desire to open up salary cap space early on in the off-season and reiterated his need to trade a blue liner earlier this week when speaking to the media.

Marino's departure opens up roughly $3.5 million in salary cap space for the Penguins as they look to fill out the bottom of their forward lineup.

Ty Smith, a 22-year-old left-shot defenseman, is heading into the final year of his entry-level contract. Smith has played 114 games in the previous two seasons with the Devils, scoring 43 points (7-36), but is a career minus-35.

A 2018 first-round pick of the New Jersey Devils, Smith is a talented puck mover who possesses tremendous on-ice vision. The Saskatchewan native is a bit undersized at 5'11" but uses his positioning and quick hands to clear pucks from the defensive zone. After a promising rookie season with the Devils, Smith struggled in his sophomore season and finished the year on New Jersey's third pairing.

This trade leaves the Penguins with five left-handed defensemen, including 23-year-old P.O. Joseph who signed a one-way contract earlier this week. With Hextall telling Danny Shirey of DK Pittsburgh Sports that is a "fair assumption" the Penguins will not carry nine defensemen into the season, another trade could be on the horizon for the Penguins.