That Johnsons contract was signed to be bought out imo.

The Pens aren't buying Johnosn. They would be stuck with over a 1mil cap hit till 2026-2027. no way they do that
SEASON BASE SALARY INITIAL CAP HIT ACTUAL COST SAVINGS FINAL CAP HIT
2019-20 $4,000,000 $3,250,000 $1,020,833 $2,979,167 $270,833
2020-21 $3,000,000 $3,250,000 $1,020,833 $1,979,167 $1,270,833
2021-22 $3,000,000 $3,250,000 $1,020,833 $1,979,167 $1,270,833
2022-23 $2,250,000 $3,250,000 $1,020,833 $1,229,167 $2,020,833
2023-24 $0 $0 $1,020,833 -$1,020,833 $1,020,833
2024-25 $0 $0 $1,020,833 -$1,020,833 $1,020,833
2025-26 $0 $0 $1,020,833 -$1,020,833 $1,020,833
2026-27 $0 $0 $1,020,833 -$1,020,833 $1,020,833
TOTAL $12,250,000 $13,000,000 $8,166,667 $4,083,333 $8,916,667

I think the Penguins organization officially had an "OH ****" moment when the league pushed back the year Seattle will join.

Consider the alternative of paying him fully and having be a net negative on the ice. There's this thing called sunk cost.

No GM will start out with a negative cap hit every year for 7 years. Especially when The Pens will still be contenders for some of that and are a cap team. Johnson isn't as bad as you make him seem you are just taking your hate to an extreme.

why are you overpaying fringe prospects who haven't proven a thing ? no way any of those players deserve over a million

Johnson, like it or not, has gotten better and better as the games go. This same old narrative is annoying. They are not going to buy him out, and see growth so far. If anything, they'll give Seattle incentives to take him.

Jack Johnson is on the team because Sidney Crosby wants him there. Just pretend that Johnson is a $1M defenseman and that Crosby's cap hit is $10.95M. That's still a bargain for Sid.