Earlier this month, defenceman John Marino scored an impressive goal for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the first of his NHL career. It was the type of play that finds its way to the daily and weekly highlights. Many Edmonton Oilers fans saw the goal and remembered his name from the team’s 2015 draft. Marino making it to the NHL should be good news for the Oilers and their fans, but not if he landed in Pittsburgh. What happened? It’s complicated.
Elliotte Friedman’s 31 Thoughts touched on some of the reasons recently, including Marino’s connection to Peter Chiarelli and the fact he is from North Easton, Massachusetts. It became obvious Marino wasn’t going to sign with Edmonton, and the club dealt him to the Penguins for a draft pick. These things happen to all NHL teams, and Edmonton has been on the other side twice this decade (Justin Schultz, Matt Benning) in benefiting from the freedom allowed college men who have been drafted by other big-league…
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