When the Penguins acquired left-shot defenseman Mike Matheson from the Florida Panthers on Sept. 24, general manager Jim Rutherford hinted another move might be on the horizon.
Asked about the logjam on the left-side of the blue line, Rutherford said, "Something will have to give."
On Monday, the other shoe dropped. The Penguins placed left-shot defenseman Jack Johnson on waivers for the purpose of a buyout, freeing up some much-needed salary cap space and ending the tenure of one of the most-criticized Penguins players in recent memory.
Prior to the buyout, Johnson, 33, had three years remaining on a deal that carried a $3.25 million average cap hit. The buyout reduces the salary cap hit while spreading the remainder out over twice the length of his current contract. In terms of real money, the Penguins will pay Johnson $5.5 million instead of $8.25 million.
The cap hit will be as follows:
_ 2020-21: $1,166,667
_ 2021-22: $1,166,667
_ 2022-23: $1,916,667
_ 2023-24: $916,667
_ 2024-25: $916,667
_ 2025-26: $916,667
Rutherford doesn't like to buyout players. Off the top of his head, the Hall of Fame general manager couldn't think of another time he's done it.
But he said the flat $81.5 million salary cap was the biggest factor that led him to make this move. Initially, the NHL projected the cap to go up from $81.5 million last season to somewhere between $84 million and $88 million in 2020-21. But due to the loss of revenue as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the salary cap will remain at $81.5 million until revenue returns to pre-pandemic levels, which is likely going to be at least another year or two after this one.
"It was a necessity because of the new system we're in," Rutherford said Monday. "When I signed Jack, we were not projecting an $81.5 million cap. It was going to be higher."
The Penguins will still face some tough salary cap challenges in the coming days and weeks. They are now $4,718,158 under the $81.5 million cap, according to Cap Friendly. Signing the five restricted free agents who were tendered Monday will eat up a significant chunk of that. The Penguins are also working to clear cap space in the event that they don't move restricted free agent goalie Matt Murray and have to accept a salary decided by an arbitrator.
"We had to do it to have the flexibility," Rutherford said.
Of course, there's no denying Johnson's performance had something to do with the decision. While he was an effective penalty-killer, Johnson's five-on-five metrics aren't pretty. His shot share was 45.8% and 46.7% over the last two seasons. It came to a head in the postseason when Johnson was on the ice for five of the 10 Montreal goals.
With Johnson gone, the left-side of the blue line is coming into focus. Brian Dumoulin, Marcus Pettersson and Matheson will be the three starting lefties. Juuso Riikola, who signed a two-year extension this offseason, is next up on the depth chart. Left-handed prospect Pierre-Olivier Joseph is also knocking on the door at the NHL level.
