Grading the NHL's moves and signings from the past week: John Marino, Patrick Kane, Jason Robertson and Columbus keeps two

The NHL was a little busy this past week with a big contract extension in Utah, Dallas getting a short-term answer on Jason Robertson, Columbus keeping two of its important young players, and the Chicago Blackhawks bringing back Patrick Kane.

Let’s talk about them.

Let’s also grade them.

John Marino gets a big contract in Utah

The contract: Eight-year extension worth $54 million and a $6.75 million salary cap number

Looking at this from a Pittsburgh perspective for a second, one of the most underrated disasters from Ron Hextall’s reign of error was his decision to trade John Marino to the New Jersey Devils a third-round pick and Ty Smith, and then follow that up by trading Mike Matheson for Jeff Petry in one weekend. Just an absolutely devastating sequence of events, only somewhat salvaged later down the line by Petry being one of the salary dumps used in the Erik Karlsson trade.

Marino, meanwhile, has gone on to be a solid mid-pairing defenseman that has mostly produced good results, even if they don’t come with sexy individual numbers.

He’s a good player.

He’s been an especially good fit in Utah.

With the Mammoth having traded Sean Durzi this offseason for Vincent Trocheck, it did leave a potential long-term hole on their defense, which was perhaps even more concerning given the reality that Marino was entering the last year of his current deal.

Now they have Marino locked in place, and did so while still having the ability to sign him to a max-term of eight years.

From a results perspective, Marino is consistently very solid. When he’s on the ice, his teams generally do very well.

Let’s just look at the past three years where 295 defensemen have logged at least 500 minutes of 5-on-5 ice-time.

Marino’s ranks:

• Expected goal share: 59th (52.6 percent)

• Goal scored share: 69th (53.0 percent)

• Scoring chance share: 34th (53.9 percent)

• High-danger scoring chance share: 63rd (52.8 percent)

That typically puts him among the top-20 percent of the defensemen in the NHL, while not exactly getting favorable offensive zone starts. He’s a good, effective player that can play some tough minutes, and has been for quite some time.

In terms of the cap hit, it’s probably outstanding given the current market. A $6.75 million cap hit in 2027-28 (when this deal kicks in) will account for just 5.9 percent of the cap. That is nearly identical to the cap percentage at the time he signed his current deal that pays him $4.4 million per season. As of this moment it is the 133rd largest cap hit in the NHL for the 2027-28 season, and is only going to go lower over the course of the next year as more players get extensions and big money.

Just about my only concern is with the term, and the fact Marino is going to be 30 years old when it begins. Will he still be that effective when he is 34, 35 or 36? Probably not. But that’s a tomorrow problem for Utah, or whatever team the Mammoth dump him on when it gets to that point. For today, and for the immediate short-term, I’m not sure Utah was going to find a better defenseman for a better price over the next few years.

Grade: B+

Jason Robertson and the Dallas Stars get a short-term solution

The contract: One-year, $12 million

This isn’t a perfect solution. But it’s a solution. For now.

It avoids the messiness of salary arbitration.

It almost certainly takes away the potential of a trade before the season.

It might buy the two sides more time to figure out a long-term contract extension after January.

And it at least keeps the Stars’ best, and most dynamic player on the roster for the start of the season. That’s important for a team that is still right in the middle of a wide open Stanley Cup window and is trying to bounce back from a disappointing first-round exit.

There was not likely to be a trade involving Robertson this offseason that was going to move them closer to a championship in 2026-27. They were almost certainly going to be giving up the best player in the deal, and there was nobody in free agency that was going to come close to matching Robertson’s impact. Maybe they could have used some of the incoming assets to make a move for somebody like Dylan Larkin. But that’s not making you better, either.

Keeping him should have been viewed as a must.

I still think it’s a must long-term.

But that one-year term still leaves a lot of unanswered questions, especially since they can not sign him to another extension until after Jan. 1.

Will they be willing to go above $12 million per year on a long-term deal? Will Robertson recognize the opportunity he has on the open market as a mid-20s, superstar level player and the type of contract he could get from the team of his choosing? Does it create an all-or-nothing season in Dallas? Would they potentially do what the Colorado Avalanche did with Mikko Rantanen two years ago and trade him at the deadline even when they are still in contention? And what team would be willing to give up significant assets for a player they know they might not be able to re-sign?

See?

A lot of unanswered questions.

For this year it is a necessary, and even good deal. But the lack of long-term certainty makes it a short-term band-aid. And I see that as a problem.

Grade: B-/C+

Patrick Kane returning to Chicago seems like an act of desperation masked by sentimentality

The contract: Two years, $16 million with an $8 million per year salary cap number