With the Pittsburgh Penguins over the salary cap upper limit, the team will have to make a move to become cap compliant by the time the season starts. The team does have a number of options that could get them to the $81.5MM limit (they are only about $400K over the cap). However, The Athletic’s Josh Yohe (subscription required) reports that defenseman Jack Johnson has been told by the front office that general manager Jim Rutherford has many trade possibilities on his desk and the majority of them involve the Penguins trading away Johnson.
Yohe goes on to quote a source who indicated there was “a 75-80 percent chance” that Johnson will no longer be a Penguin. There are evidently two teams that are willing to take on Johnson’s contract, although Pittsburgh may be forced to send a sweetener. The Penguins are also likely going to have to move one of their backup goaltenders, either Tristan Jarry or Casey DeSmith, or will have to risk sending one of them through waivers, which means one of them would likely be snagged by another team.
Johnson signed a five-year, $16.25MM deal ($3.25MM AAV) with the Penguins last summer and the contract almost immediately become one of the team’s biggest albatrosses. Johnson struggled almost immediately as he played a career low in minutes played, averaging just 19:17. Despite playing in all 82 games, he finished with just 13 points and a minus-four plus/minus.
The team has quite a bit of depth on its blueline this year and Johnson, so far this preseason, has often found himself on the outside looking in and currently looks to be used as the team’s seventh extra defenseman, a tall order for a player making $3.25MM per season for another four years. Several players have passed him since last season on the depth chart, including Marcus Pettersson, Juuso Riikola and the emergence of John Marino.
And yet Rutherford seems to get no criticism for doling out these insane contacts every year – Hunwick, Johnson, and Tanev. Doling out huge term FA deals to crap players makes no sense, yet he always does it.
2 Stanley Cups and signings/ trades that DO work tend to give you a bit of credit when looking a success. And don’t judge Tanev signing quite yet.
gudbrabson
Why anybody would take on four years of him is beyond me. This was a terrible deal the second it was signed.
That Johnson deal killed us the day it was signed. I don’t like Tanev’s term but I think he will be great for our style. We needed a
Kunitz replacement and I think he fits that mold.Time will tell,I’m just happy we can shed Johnson to some delusional gm lol
Maybe he’ll get dumped to OTT – can’t find the dreaded NMC/NTC on CapFriendly. Other possibilities (as of the moment): CBJ, ANA, WPG. @JD – totally agree. Most, if not all of us, screamed “What the *bleep* are you doing, GMJR” when he pulled that one. And, @jmartin87, that is, of course very true. Winning can camouflage dumb signings, for a while at least. Until, somebody notices and objects to the sudden stink in the room. You know he’ll probably have to pay to get rid of him, but that should allow them to sneak (barely) under the cap.
Especially if you have to add Jarry as a sweetener to get rid of Johnson and that contract as in story that Johnson will be traded before drop of puck on season. They could at least got a prospect for Jarry , or 3rd or 4th rounder to another deal, now have to move him to get rid of Johnson, Not gonna say nothing on Gudbranson , think it has been said. Good Points made Mac !
With the way that Murray has played at times and the fact that they chose DeSmith over Jarry has to say something about what they really see in him
link to capfriendly.com
Mac just type it in search am sending you info on players with no movement clauses. I will let you type in No Trade Clause. Hope this is what you are seeking. Click on cap friendly above.
link to capfriendly.com
Mac , hope you get this but please ignore my last post to you in regards to NMC/NTC , I found a better version of it , my apologies , I may send it to you later you can find it under players. far as I know I could have sent you map to a pot of gold under rainbow don’t know what that was I sent to you, since I looked at it afterwards. another Brain Fart.