It doesn’t take someone who has watched hockey at all levels for several decades to know it. It doesn’t take a skilled mathematician to read it in the advanced statistics. It shouldn’t take a head coach and general manager who have spent decades around the game, both as players and then in management, to see the writing on the wall. To put it simply, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Jack Johnson is bad and is costing the Penguins opportunities to win games.
When the Penguins signed Jack Johnson to a five-year contract this offseason, Penguins fans were in disbelief. Not only was the contract a long-term deal that could be an issue years down the road, but all signs pointed to Jack Johnson no longer being an NHL-quality defenseman this year, let alone at the end of the contract.