John Marino signed an eight-year, $54 million contract with the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday. It has an average annual value of $6.75 million and begins with the 2027-28 season.
The 29-year-old defenseman had an NHL career-high 36 points (four goals, 32 assists) in 80 regular-season games while ranking third on the Mammoth in average ice time per game (20:12). He had one goal in six Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"I think as we move forward, you can see our team starting to have a lot of players on our team sign long-term deals," Mammoth general manager Bill Armstrong said. "You've got to be able to fit all the money. I always say it's like a big pizza, and everybody gets a little slice, and if someone takes too much of the pizza, not everybody eats.
I think with this, it helps us spread out some money, and I think at the same time, if you look where Johnny is, yes, he is a 30-year-old, but he hasn't played a lot of games in the National Hockey League, and his body for me is still fresh.
"He's somebody that is just
I think there's almost more in his game that we can see, and defensemen mature later, and I feel the game that he can play, he can play it for eight years for us and have a huge impact. Like I said, I still think he's getting better. I think (he) is for me an elite puck mover, and I think if you just watch how many times coming out of the zone he just puts it on the forward tape in motion, he really creates offense from the back side for us.
And I think he's just had a huge effect on our group.
Marino is entering the final year of a six-year, $26.4 million contract ($4.4 million AAV) he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 3, 2021, and could have become an unrestricted free agent after the 2026-27 season.
"There’s a ton of factors that go into it," Marino said of signing for eight years. "First off, I think Ryan and Ashley (Smith), the job they’ve done creating a winning environment, a place where players want to be. It goes from the new practice facility, them being on top of everything and doing everything so quick.
And then obviously the support from the fans and everything has exceeded expectations, so it’s been unbelievable.
Marino has spent the past two seasons with Utah after he was acquired in a trade from the New Jersey Devils on June 29, 2024.
"I think there’s a lot to look forward to, especially based off last year, how tight that series was with Vegas (in the Western Conference First Round)," Marino said. "Obviously, they made their Cup run, we saw how far they went, but we’re obviously a young team and still have so much to look forward to. I think it kind of speaks for itself.
"We were a tight, tight group last year, and you don’t expect anything different this year. Just having a room like that where everyone’s on the same page, the'D' group and everything like that, it goes a long way for sure.
Selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the sixth round (No. 154) of the 2015 NHL Draft, Marino has 157 points (23 goals, 134 assists) in 443 regular-season games for the Penguins, Devils and Mammoth, and seven points (one goal, six assists) in 35 playoff games.
"Every time he's on the ice, good things happen, and I think he kind of makes everybody better around him, and that's why you see the love for his teammates," Armstrong said. "I know when he signed, I think everybody on the team was really pumped just because (the forwards) were really excited about getting that puck for the next eight years in motion on their tape.
NHL.com columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika contributed to this report