Utah activates John Marino from injured reserve; will make season debut versus Canadiens

One of the top offseason additions for the Utah Hockey Club is set to make his season debut as defenseman John Marino was activated from the injured reserve Tuesday.

Acquired from the New Jersey Devils in a June deal in exchange for a pair of second-round draft choices, Marino has yet to suit up in Salt Lake City after suffering a back injury prior to training camp and then undergoing back surgery that sidelined him for the first 42 games of Utah’s inaugural season.

Entering the lineup Tuesday versus the Montreal Canadiens, practice sessions showed Marino paired with veteran rearguard Juuso Valimaki, per Brogan Houston of the Deseret News.

A noted defensive defenseman, Marino made 75 appearances with the Devils last season in which he registered four goals and 21 assists for 25 points, one short of his career-high 26-point finish with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2019-20. In all, Marino has seen 328 career contests between the Penguins and Devils in which he has tallied 18 goals and 89 assists for 107 points with a plus-38 rating.

“We have big plans for [Marino]. He is a top-four defenseman for us that can impact the second-unit powerplay and the No. 1 penalty kill,” Utah general manager Bill Armstrong told Cole Bagley of KSL Sports. “If we can bring him in the right way and not overload him with minutes or situational play, it will help him grow and get comfortable.”

A 27-year-old native of North Easton, Mass., Marino is in the fourth year of a six-year pact that carries a $4.4-million annual average value, per PuckPedia. To create a space for Marino on its 23-man roster, Utah made a corresponding move Tuesday, adding right winger Dylan Guenther to the injured reserve retroactive to January 8.

On the season, Utah stands 18-17-7 and six points back of the Calgary Flames for the second wildcard position in the Western Conference.