Being a rookie defenseman in the NHL isn't nearly as easy as John Marino make it look in 2019-20.
It couldn't be, because Marino made what appeared to be a nearly seamless transition from Harvard to the NHL.
The reality, though, is that he had to adapt and adjust to his new surroundings, to dealing with opponents to who operated on a plane few reached when he was on college.
"The pace (is different), and the depth is obviously a lot deeper at this level," Marino said Sunday. "A lot more guys can make plays, and they kind of keep you guessing."
Yeah, well, Marino guessed right almost all of the time during his first season as a pro, which is why the Penguins have signed him to a six-year contract with an average annual value of $4.4 million. He has a season left on his two-year entry-level deal, so the new agreement will kick in in 2021-22.
Coincidentally enough, that might well be around the time he succeeds Kris Letang as the cornerstone of the Penguins' defense corps.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Marino's game was his attention to detail, the way he seemed prepared to calmly handle any situation that developed before him.
"If you trust your game, you play the game the right way and you do all the little things," he said.
When his new contract takes effect, Marino will be the Penguins' third-highest paid defenseman, behind Letang ($7.25 million) and Mike Matheson ($4.875 million). Matheson signed his contract with Florida, which traded him to the Penguins after last season.
Letang, the dominant figure on the Penguins' defense in recent seasons, enters the training camp that began Sunday alongside Brian Dumoulin on the No. 1 pairing, while Matheson is scheduled to work with Cody Ceci on the No. 3 pairing. Marino, 23, plays alongside Marcus Pettersson on the second pairing and is the youngest player on those three units.
No one had a better 2019-20 season than Marino, however, even though he missed 11 games after needing surgery to repair the damage done to his cheekbone by a deflected puck. He had six goals and 20 assists in 56 games, but his value hardly was measured solely by such statistics. He established himself as a guy Mike Sullivan could deploy in any situation, be it at even strength or on special teams, and expect a solid performance.
"We are very fortunate to have a young, skilled defenseman like John in our organization," Jim Rutherford said, in a statement released by the team. His rookie season proved he is a top-four defenseman with great hockey sense. We were impressed with his strong defensive play and look forward to watching him develop offensively."
Marino's point production wasn't bad -- Calder Trophy winner Cale Makar, Adam Fox and Quinn Hughes were the only first-year defensemen to finish ahead of him in the scoring race -- but presumably will rise if his power-play time does. Last season, only 45 seconds of his average playing time of 20:15 was spent with the man-advantage.
Marino figures that simply having a year of NHL experience should allow him to contribute more to the offense during the season that begins Jan. 13 in Philadelphia, in part because he expects to be more confident with the puck and perhaps more aggressive on the rush.
"When you first come in as a rookie, your first instinct ... you really don't want to mess up," he said. "You want to just play it safe, make the right play."
Goals, assists, shot-blocks and the like aside, there's another set of Marino's numbers that the Penguins have to like: The way he agreed to have his pay structured over the course of the contract. Team revenues have plunged because of the pandemic, but Marino will cost them just $1.75 million in the first year of his deal, followed by $3.25 million the next season. It subsequently will pay him $5.25 million, $6.15 million, $5.3 million and $4.45 million.
Whether Marino decided to have his earnings split that way to help out the franchise isn't known, but he made it clear that staying with the Penguins, who got his rights in a 2019 trade with Edmonton, was a priority.
"It's important to stay with a team that really wants you," he said. "It seems like a great fit with the coaches and the teammates."
