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After the Utah Mammoth re-signed John Marino earlier, it is clear that Utah is trying to address one thing. Mammoth fans may love another great move that the front office made as the Mammoth attempt to get closer to contention. The Mammoth re-signed the defenseman John Marino to an eight-year, 6.75M AAV deal. This deal shows that Utah is intent on improving on one thing:
The Mammoth are trying to get better defensively
Utah first signed former head coach of the Vancouver Canucks, Adam Foote, to become an assistant head coach. Foote, a former NHL player, has proven to be a great defensive coach as an assistant coach. The Mammoth did allow a couple of defenseman to walk, but they did sign a good depth defenseman and keep Marino. Marino scored 4 goals and 36 points, but most importantly, had an amazing 42 +/-. This was tied for second-best among NHL defenseman last season. The Mammoth are trying to become a great defensive team by re-signing Marino. The Mammoth still have a great defensive core as well and of course have a lot of youth.
One of the main reasons Utah was comfortable allowing some veterans to walk was because they had some young guys in their core as well. Ultimately, Utah is simply trying to improve its defense, as its offense isn't something it should really worry about. Utah was already good on offense after the 2025-26 season, but they have gotten even better. Not to mention, young players often progress into even better players, giving Utah reason to believe their offense should be very effective in the coming seasons.
It is a smart move by the front office to try to keep their defense together and improve. If Utah improves, they will help their goaltenders and the team. The Mammoth is bound to have a difficult road ahead in the Central Division, so it makes a lot of sense to try to improve their defense. For now, it seems the front office doesn't know how NOT to win.
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This article was originally published on utahonice.com as With recent signing, the Mammoth are clearly trying to improve one thing.
