I like Jim Rutherford. I really do. And he should be remembered first, foremost and forevermore for bringing two more Stanley Cups to Pittsburgh.
But his stubbornness sure can get the best of him.
It flared when Rutherford quit on the franchise early last season. It continues to flare when it comes to the gift that keeps on taking — Jack Johnson, who was 31 when Rutherford inexplicably signed him to a five-year, $16.25 million contract in the summer of 2018.
It made zero sense at the time. It makes less now. Did Rutherford owe somebody a favor? Did he lose a bet?'
Widely revered for his bluntness and honesty, Rutherford never has given us a straight answer on Johnson. For that matter, he’s never given a straight answer as to why he so abruptly abandoned his struggling team early last season.
But back to Johnson, whose name surfaced Monday when Rutherford was introduced as the Vancouver Canucks’ new president of hockey operations. Somebody asked if he’d learned any analytics-related lessons from his later years here — specifically signing Johnson and trading Tanner (Missing) Pearson for Erik Gudbranson (who wasn’t bad here).
“Jack Johnson was a big part of our dressing room and a big part of our team,” Rutherford said. “He did some good things for us. He didn’t get a good chance in Pittsburgh because he was never accepted from Day 1.”
Wait, so Rutherford blames the fans and media for how things turned out?
Really?
For some, the quote was old news. Nothing to see here — except, of course, for the Johnson buyout-related cap hits that impact the Penguins through 2025-26.
Those would include a $1.67 million hit this year and a $1.9 million hit next year, both on a stagnant cap. So don’t tell me there’s nothing to see. Johnson’s hit next year will be worth nearly two E-Rods (Evan Rodrigues is making $1 million this season).
Anyway, the story sparked a question: Is Johnson the worst free agent signing of the 21st Century in Pittsburgh Sports?
Let’s examine that, and let’s rank the six worst, one for each year of Johnson’s buyout (it’s your fault, remember).
I’ll put one stipulation on the ranking: The player in question must have signed a contract worth at least $2 million annually. That would eliminate the likes of LeGarrette Blount, Antti Niemi, Kent Graham and Raul Mondesi.
I also cannot include Rob Scuderi 2.0 (sentimental reasons) or Ladarius Green (he was still concussed, apparently, when the Steelers signed him, which is probably something they should have looked into. Or maybe that was your fault, as well).
Envelopes, please ...
6. Sean Mahan, Steelers center: A year after signing Mahan to a five-year, $17 million contract, the Steelers shipped him right back to Tampa Bay for a seventh-round pick. They were lucky the Bucs had such a generous return policy.
5. Donte Moncrief, Steelers receiver: Kevin Colbert signed the 26-year-old Moncrief to a two-year, $9 million contract in 2019, then watched him morph into Limas Sweed. Moncrief dropped too many passes to count in his debut against the Patriots, then somehow turned a sure reception into an interception against Seattle. Finally, and mercifully, the Steelers released him in November. He wound up with four catches (for 18 yards) on 15 targets and has caught only one NFL pass since. Truly baffling.
4. Lonnie Chisenhall, Pirates outfielder (sort of): This one didn’t cost the Pirates much, but the fact that he literally disappeared from the team has to factor in here, no? On Nov. 26, 2018, the Pirates signed Chisenhall to a one-year, $2.75 million deal. It made some sense. As GM Neal Huntington put it, “Lonnie Chisenhall adds an experienced, productive and versatile player to our major league team.” Only he never played a game for their major league team. And nobody really asked why. I guess he was injured. His final Pirates stats: 0, across the board.
3. Jeromy Burnitz, Pirates outfielder: This was a Dave Littlefield special. Burnitz, who’d hit 61 combined home runs the previous two years, was signed for $6.7 million plus performance bonuses — but unless one of them was performing like a 100-year-old man, he never cashed in. Basically, Burnitz used PNC Park as his retirement home. The best part was when manager Jim Tracy was questioned as to why he took no punitive action after Burnitz jogged out a ground ball.
“Did you think he was going to be safe?” Tracy asked.
Good point. Burnitz rarely reached first base safely.
2. Jack Johnson, Penguins defenseman: See above, and note that after Johnson played all 82 games in 2018-19, Mike Sullivan scratched him for the playoff opener (that was your fault, by the way).
Some might not rank this one so highly. What puts it over the top for me is that while nearly all the other ones I can think of had at least some merit at the time of signing, this one did not. It never made a shred of sense.
1. Derek Bell, Pirates outfielder: Not even Johnson could top Mr. Operation Shutdown himself, who hit .173 in 2001 after signing a two-year, $9.75 million contract. Bell was outraged that he had to compete for a spot while hitting .148 the next spring training. The Pirates released him.
On his way out of the clubhouse for the last time, Bell said to the Post-Gazette’s Robert Dvorchak, “Just tell them I got in my yacht and rode out into the sunset.”
Good luck topping that one.
