The 2024 NHL Draft was completed on Saturday from Las Vegas. In addition to players being drafted, there were three trades involving notable Americans. Let’s take a look at the three American born players who were dealt.
John Marino
The defenseman from North Easton, Massachusetts was traded from the New Jersey Devils to the Utah Hockey Club with a fifth round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft (Utah selected defenseman Ales Cech of Praha, Czech Republic) for a second round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft (New Jersey selected goaltender Mikhail Yegorov of St. Petersburg, Russia) and a second round pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
Marino is joining his third NHL team. He previously played with the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2019 to 2022, and the New Jersey Devils from 2022 to 2024.
In 75 games with the Devils, Marino had four goals and 21 assists for 25 points. He was a -6 with 41 penalty minutes, one game-winning goal, 57 shots on goal, 89 blocked shots, 39 hits, 41 takeaways, and 33 giveaways. Marino’s game-winning goal came on February 6 in a 5-3 Devils win over the Colorado Avalanche. Marino scored from Nico Hischier of Brig, Switzerland and Jesper Bratt of Stockholm, Sweden, and put the Devils up 4-3 at the time.
Paul Cotter
The centre from Canton, Michigan was traded from the Vegas Golden Knights to the Devils with a third round draft pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft for right winger Alexander Holtz of Stockholm, Sweden and goaltender Akira Schmid of Nesslau, Switzerland.
In 76 games with the Golden Knights, Cotter had seven goals and 18 assists for 25 points. He was a -11 with 41 penalty minutes, four power-play points, 100 shots on goal, 26 faceoff wins, 29 blocked shots, 233 hits, 35 takeaways, and 19 giveaways.
Kevin Hayes
The right winger from Dorchester, Massachusetts was traded from the St. Louis Blues to the Pittsburgh Penguins and a second round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft for future considerations. In 79 games, he had 13 goals and 16 assists for 29 points. Hayes had 12 penalty minutes, two game-winning goals, five power-play points, 153 shots on goal, 478 faceoff wins, 17 blocked shots, 42 hits, 41 takeaways, and 31 giveaways.
Hayes’s first game-winning goal came in a 4-1 Blues win over the New Jersey Devils on November 3. Hayes put the Blues up 2-0 at 9:54 of the first period. Hayes scored from defenseman Nick Leddy of Eden Prairie, Minnesota and Jakub Vrana of Prague, Czech Republic. Hayes’s second game-winning goal came in a 6-5 Blues win over the Arizona Coyotes. Hayes scored the only goal in the third period and broke a 5-5 deadlock at 4:13 of the third period. Brandon Saad of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania had the lone assist.
The Penguins are Hayes’s fifth NHL team. In addition to the Blues (2023-24), he has previously played with the New York Rangers (2014 to 2019), one season with the Winnipeg Jets (2019), and the Philadelphia Flyers (2019 to 2023).
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