look, this team's gotta get rid of Jack Johnson one way or another. is this the best idea ever? no. but all of the options with regards to Jack Johnson are bad. this is maybe feasible.
the Penguins are probably going to have to use the 21st overall pick to get rid of Johnson's contract. picking in the 1st round is great and all, but the Pens can't squander the rest of Crosby and Malkin's good years waiting for said pick to become an NHL player. adding a good player would be cool, too, but subtracting Johnson from this roster might be the best improvement of all.
the Devils, while they're making an attempt to be on the up and up, are not great at the moment. furthermore, the state of their defense (both the roster and the prospect pool) is eh. the right side looks alright with Severson and Vatanen (Santini and Carrick are fine). the left side... not so much. Butcher's great, and Mueller's fine, but Greene's getting a little long in the tooth; wouldn't be surprised to see him retire after this upcoming season. the prospect pool doesn't seem to have a whole lot, either. Colton White did well for Binghamton, but is he really ready for the NHL?
not that I'm going to claim Jack Johnson is any better than these people. but dangling the 21st overall pick in front of the Devils would be a good sweetener to convince them, "hey, take on this albatross of a contract, and he'll be at least a warm body on defense. if you wait a year for the buyout, it won't be nearly as bad." plus, they'd get to convert #80 overall to #21 overall to continue to build their prospect pool. Shero knows how to draft well, as can be seen from the 2016 and 2017 championship Penguins. in return, the Penguins would get a mid-round pick so that they're not picking almost halfway through the draft.
yeah wait till FA hits. JJ for 3.25 million is going to look like a steal. They won't have problems moving him. There are so many teams in need of defense that have nobody.
McDavid, Connor
250 000 $)
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