The plot thickens surrounding Jack Johnson
Dreger says on TSN1200 the Pens are trying hard to move Jack Johnson but probably have to include a sweetener to get it done. Expects Rutherford to be able to pull it off
— James (@Account4hockey) September 26, 2019
Penguins are likely to leave this situation with a pretty big cavity if they elect to trade away Jack Johnson. The sweetener would have to be pretty enticing for another team to take on Johnson with four more years left on his contract and the Penguins already looking to move him only one year into it.
The timing of this potential trade is peculiar as well. It does nothing to dispel notion the team is directionless. They knee-capped themselves all summer with minimal cap space and missed out on some interesting options (Gusev, Gardiner, Shattenkirk) only to free up space now? This is well after the two busiest times of year (draft/FA) teams look to make their significant roster changes. Did the Penguins just figure out Johnson is bad during training camp? If you want to spin this into the Penguins having cap space for the deadline you can. I would point out that deadline prices are terrible and the Penguins still don’t have a lot of high end pieces to be trading with (or should be trading with).
Also, the Penguins losing assets (ie future cap space, players, picks) to get rid of Johnson was as obvious as him being ludicrously terrible on the ice. This is another self-own by the Penguins that can be added to list since July 2017. Most of Rutherford’s work the past few years has been undoing his work from the past few years.
NEW PODCAST Will the Penguins get a cavity from Jack Johnson sweetner? https://t.co/Ixxnn8USmj pic.twitter.com/uhpdWG8SgQ
— Ryan Wilson (@GunnerStaal) September 27, 2019
Thanks for reading!