Utah Mammoth sign John Marino to 8-year, $54M extension

Utah Mammoth defenseman John Marino agreed to an 8-year contract extension worth $54 million, or $6.75 million in annual average value, per ESPN. The deal locks in a key player as the franchise enters its third season following its 2024 relocation from Arizona.

Marino, 29, was entering the final year of a six-year deal at $4.4 million annually that he originally signed with Pittsburgh. The defenseman was traded to New Jersey in 2022, then acquired by Utah in a 2024 trade that cost the Mammoth three draft picks.

In the 2025-26 regular season, Marino appeared in 80 games, scoring 4 goals and registering 36 points while averaging 20:12 of ice time per night, according to ESPN. In the playoffs, the Mammoth held a 2-1 series lead against Vegas but lost in the first round after consecutive double-overtime defeats. Marino logged 22:27 of ice time in that series, ranking third on the team behind Mikhail Sergachev and Nick Schmaltz, while collecting 1 point across the games, per ESPN.

General Manager Bill Armstrong said in a statement: "We view John as a foundational piece of our future. 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."

With Marino's signing, the Mammoth now have eight players with more than three years remaining on their contracts, including defensemen Sergachev and MacKenzie Weegar, according to ESPN. The extension comes as Utah pursues playoff contention in the Western Conference following their inaugural season, when they finished seven points short of a wild-card berth.

The Mammoth made multiple offseason moves to strengthen their roster. On July 1, they traded for New York Rangers center Vincent Trocheck, according to ESPN. They also signed winger Anders Lee as an unrestricted free agent after he left the New York Islanders, and acquired goaltender Sebastian Cossa in a trade with Detroit, expecting him to work alongside current starter Karel Vejmelka.

The open questions around the extension include whether it contains any no-trade or modified no-trade clause, how the cap hit and salary are structured across the eight years, whether performance or games-played escalators are included, and how the deal affects Utah's position relative to the league's salary cap ceiling.