CRANBERRY, Pa. — The Penguins and free-agent defenseman Jack Johnson have agreed to the framework of a deal that would span five years at $16.25 million, a source told DKPittsburghSports.com.
The actual contract specifics can't be known until NHL free agency formally opens Sunday at 12:01 a.m. That, per our source, is when the agreement is expected to be signed. Johnson's agent, Pat Brisson, wanted a sixth year because several other teams had offered five, the source said, but Rutherford held firm at five.
Our source originally stated that the terms would be six years and $14.5 million, then later received new information.
Johnson, 31, spent the last seven seasons with Columbus but fell out of favor late last season after the Blue Jackets acquired Ian Cole, and was scratched in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The regular season also was the least productive of his career, with three goals and eight assists in 77 games. In 788 NHL games, he has 66 goals and 212 assists.
Johnson was originally drafted by Jim Rutherford while with the Hurricanes, No. 3 overall in 2005. That same year, the Penguins selected Sidney Crosby at No. 1. Crosby and Johnson have been good friends back to their time as high school teammates at Minnesota prep school powerhouse Shattuck-St. Mary's.
Rutherford had stated several times in recent days his wish to add a top-six defenseman, and he reiterated that earlier Wednesday on the first day of the Penguins' development camp at the Lemieux Sports Complex, saying, "We're looking for some depth on the blue line." Johnson's signing, then, could mean Rutherford is basically done for the summer.
Start with the defense, which now looks like this for possible pairings:
Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang
Olli Maatta-Justin Schultz
Jack Johnson-Jamie Oleksiak
Matt Hunwick was traded to the Sabres earlier Wednesday in a salary clearance, along with Conor Sheary, so Chad Ruhwedel would revert to being No. 7 on the depth chart. All of the defensemen in that top six would be playing on their natural sides except for the left-handed Oleksiak, though he's already spent a significant portion of his career on the right and genuinely doesn't mind it.
Up front, to hear Rutherford tell it more than once Wednesday, he's pretty much done. Moving Sheary, then signing Riley Sheahan a day after signing Bryan Rust has the GM sounding confident in the balance from the scoring standpoint and even the left-right standpoint.
I asked him about that:
Much more coverage of these events and Day 1 of development camp can found on our Penguins team page. And there will be even more to come later, including a Grind column and an on-location Morning Java.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Penguins development camp, UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, June 27, 2018. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS