EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsJohn Marino will remain in the Utah Mammoth's long-term plans with the defenseman signing an eight-year deal worth an annual average value of $6.75 million per season, the club announced Tuesday.Signing Marino now means the Mammoth have eight players who have more than three years remaining on their current contracts. That group also includes defensemen Mikhail Sergachev and MacKenzie Weegar."We view John as a foundational piece of our future," Mammoth general manager Bill Armstrong said in a statement. "His ability to control the game from the back end, his play in transition and our trust in him to make the right decisions in critical situations allows him to be a difference maker on most nights. Beyond his skill, John brings a level of calmness under pressure that our group feeds off and that's exactly what you need from your veteran players."Marino, 29, was about to enter the final season of a six-year contract worth $4.4 million annually that he originally signed while playing with the Pittsburgh Penguins.Since then, he was traded to the New Jersey Devils in 2022 before the Mammoth acquired him in a 2024 trade that saw them part with three draft picks.His arrival provided the Mammoth a proven top-four defenseman that helped them finish seven points out of the second and final Western Conference wild-card spot in the franchise's first season before reaching the playoffs in 2025-26.Marino scored four goals and registered 36 points while logging 20:12 in ice time over 80 games in 2025-26 to help the Mammoth make the postseason for the first time since relocating from Arizona after the 2023-24 season.Utah initially held a 2-1 series lead before losing a pair of double-overtime games en route to getting eliminated in the first round by the eventual Stanley Cup runner up Vegas Golden Knights. Marino finished with one point while averaging 22:27 in ice time, which was third behind Sergachev and Nick Schmaltz.Re-signing Marino also comes as part of an offseason that could see the Mammoth possibly challenge the power dynamic in the Western Conference.The Mammoth opened free agency July 1 by trading for New York Rangers center Vincent Trocheck before signing New York Islanders winger Anders Lee, who was an unrestricted free agent. Utah also made a move that could help now and in the future by trading for goaltender Sebastian Cossa, a first-round pick in 2021, who was one of the top prospects in the Detroit Red Wings farm system with the expectation he'll work alongside Karel Vejmelka.
