lol not gonna pawn jack Johnson off that easy.

Great argument to back up that statement.

I never would imagine guys like Hainsey, Daley, and Girardi would get their current contracts. (That's true of JJ's current contract as well.) But NHL GM's almost universally seem to prefer a minimum number of veteran players. Regardless, I'm not one of those people who thinks Johnson can't play hockey. He's a 3rd pairing D-man than can play up in a pinch. And Tampa is going to need some of those cheaper 4/5 D-men unless they overhaul their roster. Maybe Tampa isn't interested, but I don't think the trade is unreasonable on it's face.

I disagree I think Johnson is a a bad dman, has played bad and isn't worth it even with the money held back. Tampa can do better for cheaper on the ufa market than Johnson and get a player that fits them better. plus hes this bad now and 4 more years is just no. If hes good and pitts is short on the blue line just keep him

Could probably get a 3rd from Ottawa for Gudbranson straight, no need to include Jarry. Ottawa is going to have difficulty filling a roster with NHL players. Gudbranson isn't bad and has term, two things that Ottawa is going to be desperate for.

There's certainly better players available - but how does Tampa afford them with their cap squeeze? I doubt TB wants to fill the D4 thru 7 spots on their roster with nothing but guys with less than 1 full season in the league. Assuming they trade a forward for a 2nd pairing guy (pick one of the million proposed trades on the site) and assuming they have the 6-7 spots for young guys, they still need a cheap veteran. Maybe you don't want that to be Johnson, but I think he's decent in that role at the right price. Let me know if I'm missing something.

While I'd much rather get rid of Johnson, the Pens could alternatively trade Maatta, but that's a different thread entirely. Bottom line is the Pens have 3 guys (Guds, JJ, & Maatta) who all are borderline 4/5 D and need to drop 2 of them. Tampa seems like a fit for JJ with retained salary and a pick sweetener.

I'm not convinced of that at all. Gudbranson is an interchangeable 2nd pairing guy. Pens should be trying to move him ASAP before teams who may be interested just sign FA's. Not sure there are that many teams who would be eager to make the trade, and Pens need the cap space more than a mid-round pick.

Low ball Pettersson and give raises to players who haven't proved anything at the NHL level. What was the point of dumping salary to overpay unproven players? Isn't this why the Penguins are in the situation they're in? So if you are trying to correct Rutherford's mistakes, who is going to correct yours?

I have no idea what you're talking about. Pettersson is the only RFA who isn't arbitration eligible and only has 1.5 seasons in the league. He's not going to cash-in on this contract. All the others will need RFA tenders which means they are guaranteed at least a 5% raise, I believe. Prow is an UFA, so he needs a decent contract or he likely signs somewhere else. Regardless, $50-100k/year isn't going to make-or-break this lineup.

When they are already 300k over the cap going into next season and when you give roster spots to said players it will

I think you are confused and need to re-read the proposed roster, including trades, shown above. The entire point is to try to move Guds and JJ for cap room (they are literally the only ones currently under contract for 19/20 that are being replaced) so the Pens can keep Schultz and Maattaa. Without further moves, they need to let their young (and cheap!) players play.