Mammoth sign John Marino to eight-year extension
A standout blueliner is staying in Salt Lake City for a long time.
On Tuesday, the Utah Mammoth signed defenseman John Marino to an eight-year contract extension. The deal will carry an AAV of $6.75 million through the 2034-35 season, giving Marino a total of $54 million over the tenure of his contract.
According to PuckPedia, the deal has a full no-move clause for the 2027-28 season, a full no-trade clause through 2030-31, and a modified no-trade clause for the final four seasons. In 2031-32 and 2032-33, Marino will submit a 16-team no-trade list, with that list being whittled down to eight teams for the final two years of the contract.
Marino, who would’ve been an unrestricted free agent next summer, is heading into the final season of his six-year contract extension that he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins in January 2021. That deal has an AAV of $4.4 million.
Since signing that contract, Marino bounced around. The Penguins dealt him to the New Jersey Devils for Ty Smith and a draft pick in July 2022, before the Mammoth acquired him, along with a 2024 draft pick, in exchange for a pair of picks in June 2024.
Since moving to Utah, Marino has proven to be a vital piece to the building franchise that has quickly become popular since relocating from Arizona. After an injury-riddled 2024-25 campaign, the North Easton, Mass. native delivered the best performance of his NHL career. In 80 games, he scored four goals, posting career highs in assists (32), points (36) and plus/minus (+42), while averaging 20:12 of ice time per game.
Marino’s play helped the Mammoth qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time, finishing in the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. The team gave the Vegas Golden Knights a run for their money in the first round, but ultimately fell to the eventual conference champions in six games. Marino posted one goal in the series.
In 443 regular-season games in the NHL, the 29-year-old has notched 23 goals and 134 assists for 157 points, with another seven points in 35 postseason contests.