Yeah. That absolutely makes sense.
I'd just wonder about how much of Marino's emergence is about how he fits with Graves specifically. It's not that he's an amazing defenceman, but sometimes you get those weird mixes where the chemistry just works and creates a much better "whole" than the "sum of it's parts". I'd be worried about upsetting the applecart in that respect.
That's seemed to be a big part of making the Devils blueline make sense, is finding that fit that puts everyone in the right spots. Marino and Graves being able to take on a lot of challenging minutes. Seems to have put Siegenthaler and Hamilton in the right space as well. It'll be a big ol' chemistry experiment trying to integrate a couple rookies in addition to Bahl who is still super inexperienced himself.
Devils are definitely in line for a bit of a set back next year just because they are likely going to transition inexperienced defenders into what has been a solid blue line next year. Similarly, some of the forwards like Tatar, Haula, Wood etc. are going to be replaced by younger forwards.
It’s a strange position for a team that turned the corner and is looking to compete, because it’s likely going to be a couple years or so before Bahl/Luke/Nemec really figure things out enough for them to be a true contender. For the forwards it’s going to be about incorporating in Holtz, Foote, Clarke, and whoever else is ready to make the jump.
For a team that really thrived on a four line, third d pairing, by committee type approach this year, the next couple years are going to be very top heavy. Probably going to be an over reliance on Hughes, Hischier, Bratt, Mercer, Meier, and Hamilton to produce until the pieces fill out around them.
Odds are at least kid or two thrives next year, maybe cushioning the transition a bit. Still going to be rough.
