Barring any transactions or unforeseen circumstances, John Marino, 29, will be a member of the Utah Mammoth until he’s 38 years old.
The team announced a maximum-term contract extension Tuesday morning for the well-rounded defenseman, paying him an average of $6.75 million annually until 2035.
Here’s what Mammoth fans learned from both the deal and the press conferences that followed it.
1. Confidence in the Mammoth is high
Fans have heard GM Bill Armstrong lay out his Stanley Cup contention plan numerous times throughout the Mammoth’s two years in Utah.
Of course, a general manager is going to deliver that type of sentiment no matter what — former Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams showed what happens when you complain about guys not wanting to play for you.
But players don’t sign long-term commitments to help the team’s PR.
Marino was only a year away from unrestricted free agency, at which point he could have chosen his destination and guaranteed himself good positioning to chase the Cup. At a time when guys are forcing their way to their preferred destinations, Marino opted to sign long-term with a team that hasn’t yet established itself as a juggernaut.
“I think there’s a lot to look forward to,” Marino explained at a post-signing press conference Tuesday afternoon. “Especially based off last year, how tight that series was with Vegas and then obviously they made their Cup run and we saw how far they went. We’re obviously a young team and still have so much to look forward to.”
Players choosing to join or stay in Utah is becoming a trend. Marino isn’t the first, nor will he likely be the last.
Logan Cooley and Nick Schmaltz signed max-term extensions earlier in the season; Vincent Trocheck took the Mammoth off his no-trade list with full knowledge that they were intent on acquiring him; Anders Lee chose Utah even after receiving a reportedly strong offer from his hometown Minnesota Wild.
GM Bill Armstrong doesn’t see that momentum slowing down anytime soon, either.
“I think as we get further in this and we become even more competitive and even better as a team, you’re going to see some higher-end players want to come to Utah, too,” he said.
2. Confidence in John Marino is high
Marino doesn’t get the headlines of a Mikhail Sergachev. For that reason, as well as the fact that he was drafted in the sixth round, the public doesn’t see him as one of the team’s most important players, and many were surprised to see him get an eight-year deal at a significant number.
If you weren’t familiar with Marino’s game before, now is the time.
You’ll rarely see him make an egregious mistake. He’s a guy who thinks the game at a high level, which allows him to avoid compromising positions — and that’s an attribute that tends to get stronger with age, not weaker.
Armstrong explained the offensive side of Marino’s game.
“What people probably don’t see as much is how every forward on our team wants to play with John Marino because when they’re in motion coming out of their zone, he puts it right on the tape,” the GM said.
“He is, for me, an elite puck mover. If you just watch how many times coming out of the zone he just puts it on the forward’s tape in motion, he really creates offense from the back side for us.”
Last season, Marino set a new career high in assists for that very reason, and his +42 plus/minus rating was the fifth-best of any NHLer. Everyone above him in that category either played for the juggernaut Colorado Avalanche or took home the MVP award.
Marino will rarely find his way onto either side of a highlight reel: the one making the flashy moves or the one getting beat with them. That type of stability comes is a coach’s dream.
3. A hint at the 2026-27 Utah Mammoth roster
While it doesn’t have to do with Marino in particular, Armstrong shared some intriguing insight into his expectations for next season’s roster when asked about his offseason as a whole.
“We’ve got the likes of Daniil But coming back and (Dmitri) Simashev, and we’ve got some young pieces, and then Cossa on the backside. Everybody’s got to kind of fit in there and gel pretty quickly.”
Simashev and But both played the yo-yo position last season, bouncing between the NHL and the AHL frequently. Given the context of the question, Armstrong’s comment makes it seem as though the two Russian youngsters are expected to make the main squad out of camp.
Both players have European assignment clauses in their contracts which, according to Armstrong when they signed those deals last year, kick in about halfway through the coming season. That means that if the Mammoth decide to send them to the AHL, they will instead have the right to go back to their Russian team, Yaroslavl Lokomotiv.
Essentially, the Mammoth need Simashev and But to make the team to be able to retain control of their development.
Given the current roster composition and his performance at the NHL level last season, it was always a fair assumption that Simashev was pencilled in to make the team out of camp. But, on the other hand, was less certain.
Utah has 14 forwards on one-way NHL contracts, which is usually the amount that a team carries on its active roster. If But is included in that group, it implies that someone else has to be placed on injured reserve or waivers.
Of course, training camp will be a major factor in roster decisions. It’s slated to begin in mid-September.
