OMG, the Rangers sign defenseman Jack Johnson

The New York Rangers signed veteran defenseman Jack Johnson

Every team has a player that the fans love to hate and in Pittsburgh it was Jack Johnson. He was the Penguins version of Marc Staal or Brendan Smith, a player signed to a big contract for long term who didn’t live up to his billing. They were elated when the Pens bought him out on Monday.  Now, he is a New York Rangers defenseman, signed for one year for $1,150,000.

This signing had to have input from Jacques Martin, the Rangers’ new assistant coach who worked with Johnson for the last  two years in Pittsburgh. Martin must believe that Johnson will be able to rebound from his tenure in the Steel City.

Who is Jack Johnson?

Johnson will turn 34 in January.  He is 6’1″, 227 pounds.   He is a left-shot defenseman who was the third overall pick in the 2005 draft by the Carolina Hurricanes.  He never played for the Canes, traded to Los Angeles when he spurned their contract offers to remain at the University of Michigan.

He spent five years with the Kings before going to Columbus in the Jeff Carter deal in 2012.  He spent six years as one of the top blueliners for the Blue Jackets before signing a five year, $16 million deal with the Penguins in 2018.  With a cap hit of $3.25 million annually, he  became the target of Pittsburgh fans’ ire.

Last season he played in 67 games, scoring three goals and 11 points and finishing with a plus/minus of -1.   In his first season in Pittsburgh, he appeared in all 82 games, finishing with one goal and 13 points.   He played a lot, averaging over 19 minutes TOI per game.

In his career, Johnson has been a workhorse top pair defenseman. playing heavy minutes.  He has never been considered a scoring threat. He’s a veteran of 937 regular season and 30 playoff games over 14 years.

Is he that bad?

He has been a lightning rod for fans and an easy target.  The reaction from Penguins fans on social media to this signing has ranged from ridicule to disbelief.   Unfortunately, all analytics point to him as an inferior defenseman.

While he never lived up to the contract that he signed with the Penguins, he does have his supporters including the man who gave him the big contract.

Penguins General Manager Jim Rutherford defended Johnson in an interview with The Atlantic (subscription required) this summer.  “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.”

The good news is he is signed for one year and the payout is reasonable. As a third pair defenseman, teamed with Tony DeAngelo, he is probably the equal of and hopefully better than Marc Staal and he is certainly a better bargain than their recently traded defenseman.

The acquisition of Johnson doesn’t fill the Rangers’ need for a defensive partner for Jacob Trouba. As of now, it is still Brendan Smith or Libor Hajek.   If K’Andre Miller plays well enough to make the varsity, he won’t be on the first pair, but if he gets third pair minutes,  that could mean a promotion for Johnson to the first or second pairing and that could be a problem.

In our post looking at possible depth defensemen, we didn’t even consider Johnson, swayed by the vehement anti-Johnson sentiments.   Ranger fans have to hope that Jacques Martin knows what he is doing, since he must have had a lot of influence on this signing.