Pittsburgh Penguins buy out defenseman Jack Johnson’s contract

12:49 PM ET

The Penguins are buying out Jack Johnson’s contract, the team announced Monday.

Pittsburgh put the 33-year-old defenseman on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a buyout.

The Penguins signed Johnson to a five-year, $16.25 million contract in 2018, though he has often struggled during his two seasons with the team, and has become a lightning rod for fans. Penguins GM Jim Rutherford is in the middle of serious offseason reshuffling after his team was upset by the 12th-seeded Canadiens in the qualification round of the 2020 playoffs.

Rutherford already traded forward Nick Bjugstad to Minnesota and sent veteran forward Patric Hornqvist to Florida in exchange for defenseman Mike Matheson.

Johnson will account for dead cap space through the 2025-26 season. He will account for a $1.67 million cap hit in 2020-21 and 2021-22, a $1.9 million cap hit in 2022-23, and then a $917,000 cap hit for the final three seasons, according to CapFriendly. Matheson, 26, is expected to take Johnson’s spot on the third pairing.

Rutherford has defended Johnson several times over the past two seasons, including in August when the GM specifically addressed the “anti-Jack Johnson people.”

“Here’s my summary of the situation,” Rutherford told The Athletic in August. “Maybe Jack Johnson isn’t as good as I think he is. Maybe. But he’s not as bad as all of the anti-Jack Johnson people think he is. I’ll tell you what he is: He’s a solid, third-pairing defenseman if he’s playing with the right guy. He’s a player that I happen to really like and I think he’s a better player than a lot of people want to give him credit for.”

Rutherford’s position, however, clearly changed — and the news comes as the Penguins are reportedly under order to trim salary, even as the cap remains flat at $81.5 million for next season. Pittsburgh tried to look for a trade partner for Johnson, sources confirmed to ESPN, but the three years remaining on his deal combining at $3.35 million per season wasn’t palatable to most teams.

Johnson, the third overall pick by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2005, has played in 937 career games with the Los Angeles Kings, Columbus Blue Jackets and Penguins. Johnson was a healthy scratch for several games at the end of his Blue Jackets tenure, before signing with Pittsburgh in 2018. Johnson, who grew up in Michigan, was teammates with Sidney Crosby while at Shattucks-Saint Mary Boarding School.

In 67 games for Pittsburgh this season, Johnson averaged 19:28 a night and scored three goals plus eight assists. Johnson’s buyout comes four days before NHL free agency begins. The Penguins extended qualifying offers to five restricted free agents — forwards Pontus Aberg, Anthony Angello, Sam Lafferty, Sam Miletic and goalie Matt Murray, whom the Penguins are looking to trade after signing Tristan Jarry to a three-year extension over the weekend.

The Penguins did not extend a qualifying offer to forward Dominik Simon, who played in 64 games for Pittsburgh this season. Simon will become an unrestricted free agent on Friday.