JACK JOHNSON - Defenseman - 32 - $3.25MM Cap Hit - UFA in 2023-2024
LAST UPDATED 8/20/19
As a baffling offensive offseason move, the Penguins gave then-31 year old $3.25MM a year with some decent term attached. That move mad next to no sense because Johnson was a player who looked like he'd lost a step in his last few years as a Blue Jacket and looked more like an average #5 than a true top-4 option. He'd also regressed decently rapidly with age, so giving him a contract until the 2023-2024 offseason was an issue. Johnson played exactly as expected in Pittsburgh, at least as observers like me expected, and regressed further. Johnson no longer has the foot speed, vision, or puck skills to be an effective puck mover, and he's a liability on offense. Defensively, Johnson gets beat by faster rushes, lacks high-end defensive awareness, and isn't big enough or strong enough to be an imposing physical presence. Jack Johnson that means, is a defensive liability and a major negative on the power play. So his inability to play anything close to competent offensive play, combined with him losing his ability to be an average defender, means he's a strictly below-replacement level defenseman. I have nothing against Johnson as a person. I have genuine empathy for the terrible financial situation he was placed in and wish him the best in his life. But on the ice, the numbers are the numbers and the film is the film. Johnson simply does not deserve the 19 minutes a night he's getting, and the Penguins are suffering as a result. Could he bring value as a sheltered veteran #7? Sure, maybe the extra rest will allow him to be a kind of "energy defenseman," but at that cap hit I think Pittsburgh will expect him to be an everyday defenseman. I'm glad Johnson got the financial security he needed, but as for his play on the ice he's a borderline defenseman who is close to losing his status as a true NHL defenseman.
As a baffling offensive offseason move, the Penguins gave then-31 year old $3.25MM a year with some decent term attached. That move mad next to no sense because Johnson was a player who looked like he'd lost a step in his last few years as a Blue Jacket and looked more like an average #5 than a true top-4 option. He'd also regressed decently rapidly with age, so giving him a contract until the 2023-2024 offseason was an issue. Johnson played exactly as expected in Pittsburgh, at least as observers like me expected, and regressed further. Johnson no longer has the foot speed, vision, or puck skills to be an effective puck mover, and he's a liability on offense. Defensively, Johnson gets beat by faster rushes, lacks high-end defensive awareness, and isn't big enough or strong enough to be an imposing physical presence. Jack Johnson that means, is a defensive liability and a major negative on the power play. So his inability to play anything close to competent offensive play, combined with him losing his ability to be an average defender, means he's a strictly below-replacement level defenseman. I have nothing against Johnson as a person. I have genuine empathy for the terrible financial situation he was placed in and wish him the best in his life. But on the ice, the numbers are the numbers and the film is the film. Johnson simply does not deserve the 19 minutes a night he's getting, and the Penguins are suffering as a result. Could he bring value as a sheltered veteran #7? Sure, maybe the extra rest will allow him to be a kind of "energy defenseman," but at that cap hit I think Pittsburgh will expect him to be an everyday defenseman. I'm glad Johnson got the financial security he needed, but as for his play on the ice he's a borderline defenseman who is close to losing his status as a true NHL defenseman.
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