3 players the Pittsburgh Penguins should trade this offseason

2. Jack Johnson

There’s no way Jack Johnson should be allowed to return to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Not after how terrible he was against the Montreal Canadiens. And it wasn’t just the case of Johnson having a bad series. He was awful even before the ink on his five-year contract dried.

Since signing the five-year deal in 2018, Evolving Hockey‘s GAR model has him as the least valuable defenseman in the NHL. Virtually everyone Johnson has played with over the past two seasons has been objectively worse while playing with him and objectively better without him on the ice.

Worst of all, head coach Mike Sullivan trusts him. It baffles me why he does, but maybe Johnson’s similar to a dangerous toy. As a parent, what would you do if your toddler’s playing with a dangerous toy? You’d take it away, right? Well, Sullivan has proven he needs to have his dangerous toy (Johnson) taken away.

Now, here’s the $1 million question. Who the heck is going to trade for Johnson? He still has three years left on his deal and he’s not even a serviceable NHL defenseman. Plus, $3.25 million a year (Johnson’s cap hit) is a really bad price to pay for someone who is, at best, a bottom pairing defenseman.

Maybe the Penguins send a prospect and draft pick or two to the Ottawa Senators or Detroit Red Wings to take on Johnson’s contract. They need to get rid of Johnson by any means necessary because he’s a liability.