Penguins/NHL
Jack Johnson has supporters among the coaching staff
A report from The Athletic Pittsburgh over the weekend citing team and league sources that Jack Johnson was on the cusp of being traded and had even been informed a trade was coming within 48 hours has been shot down by Penguins GM Jim Rutherford.
“That was some pretty shabby journalism,” said on 937 The Fan of the report when appearing on the Cook and Joe show. “All these reporters have 24 hour access to me….you should probably go right to the person [Jim Rutherford]” Rutherford said.
Rutherford in the interview with Joe Starkey and Ron Cook was annoyed at the suggestion from the report that claimed he [Rutherford] informed Johnson a trade was likely before the season opener.
“They [PR staff] pointed it out to me and [the report] suggested I had talked to Jack Johnson and I didn’t [talk to Jack Johnson],” said Rutherford. “The story got legs for no reason. There was no truth to it.”
The Athletic’s Josh Yohe is a great guy, good reporter, so it was surprising that Rutherford went that far into debunking the report instead of just saying ‘no truth’ to it.
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MORE TAKEAWAYS FROM RUTHERFORD’S INTERVIEW
— Have the Penguins tried to trade Johnson at various times this summer? Absolutely they have, as reported here also, but talk around the league I gathered when the Athletic report surfaced over the weekend is Penguins’ management came to the realization in mid-August that a Jack Johnson trade wasn’t going to be feasible before the season and had stopped pursuing one weeks ago. While league sources contend Rutherford has greatly soured on Johnson in one year, talk inside the organization throughout camp is that the coaches have pushed to keep Johnson around since the trade of Olli Maatta. Rutherford in the interview with 937 The Fan hinted the coaches are still fond of Johnson.
“Fact of the matter coaches like Jack,” Rutherford said. “He’s of our best penalty killers. He’s a good player for us.”
— Bryan Rust will be out multiple weeks with a broken hand and is heading to long-term injured reserve as the Penguins will be cap complaint. Sidney Crosby is expected to be good to go for the opener.
— Rutherford on Dominik Kahun who started camp on the top line but failed to impress to stay on Sidney Crosby’s line: “I don’t think he had the best camp,” Rutherford said. [/hide]
Why is anyone on here shocked by Letang’s terrible play? Does everyone on hear have amnesia? He is in midseason and postseason form after only 1 game. At least he is consistent.
been watching alot of non penguins games and this might hurt the feelings of some you here almost every team in the league has started to play some good hockey lose or win but i have noticed last few years penguins brand of hockey has been very flat and boring one dimensional game you watch other teams losing and still have that urgency in the game while penguins minute they are down they dont have that urgency crossing their fingers to get a powerplay in order to get back in the game oh yeah and the fans in pittsburgh doesnt… Read more »
Sam(e) when you actually step foot inside the city of Pittsburgh let us know. You are the biggest bandwagon fan on here.
Well if Matt Whitty says so… the entire page is opinion from fans you fucken dumbass… that said… Montreal was on that list assholle
Sam(e) just looks at the pictures lol
I could fix this team in one move. Package Letang, Bjugstad and Johnson ($14m cap hit) for a young dman with top 4 potential. Shoot ZAR in the head. Cup baby!
Once D changes the kids diapers, I see a what we learned article coming.
Pens need to write letang a check tonight for the remainder of his contract and just be rid of him. When you consider the contract, he is easily the worst defenseman in the NHL dollar for dollar.
I agree. They all say he has a great contact compared to other defenseman. He’s awful. Makes the same wrong decisions over and over.
Don’t worry, Simon will be on Crosby’s wing next game and everything will be better. This is going to be a long season.
McCann needs to be on Sid’s wing.
That defense is god awful. Malkin was flying despite two bags of shit on his wing.
The Pens need to blow up that defense.
Pens led the league in odd-man breaks against last year. Already 3 breakaways in one game this season. Somehow, Murray still ends up with a .927 s% facing all this. At least they have a goalie that can keep them in games with Nightmare 58 on the roster.
What I love… Sam claims that it takes a box score to see Letangs errors… that his eye test is the better indication. How the fuck you gonna watch dude play and not see his issues
French Canadians do not have issues, it is always someone else’s fault.
.927 s% with Letang in front of you for nearly half the game? Murray is a gd hall of famer.
Cant believe canes fans are louder then penguin fans.
It’s like playoff atmosphere
Bet they’d be a lot quieter if Letang was in their top 6
Apparently some experts have Julien as favorite to win Jack Adams this year. Those this mean habs will make the playoffs and Sam was once again ahead of time
Only took 5years of convincing lol… talk to us in April retard
Haha yeah that opening night loss to the team you make fun of all the time really catapulted him. What a moron. Nice to see you’ve already jumped off the Pens wagon.
Price was worse than Murray tonight but… it is Montreal after all…
Who are these “experts?”
Some weird French guy in his Moms basement doing ball hockey tricks.
I think mstartari turned off his TV already
I was at the game loser. When’s the last time you spent money to see an NHL game? Go fucck yourself Frog!
Oh good what time did you take your nap then. Since It was like a funeral home
I don’t nap. I’m not a loser slacker like you. Delete your account on here.
Sam(e) was going to go to a Pens game once but his “friends” bailed on him or some bullshit excuse like that.
Just look at the amount of empty seats wow I guess the so called fans havent miss their team yet
Just look at the strong play by Letang on the boards with the game on the line. I hoped his dog shitt end to last year would have woke him up but he’s still a fucken French idiot! Time to move on… Malkin came back looking prepared, Letang still looks like he doesn’t get what’s happening
Agreed ever since you have gonchar behind the bench he has become careless in playing Defence. Remember Moen ?
Gonchar was 100x the defender Letang is.
He was a pp specialist nothing more never willingly diving to block a shot. If he was beat he would care less to go chase the player back. Just like Moen
Gonchar? You’re fucken retarded lol.. maybe on 1998 lol
What in the actual fuckk are you even talking about…. His best season blocking shots in Pittsburgh is 128 shots… by contrast you want Shea Weber to cum in your mouth and his best year is 157 blocks in the same number of games with the Habs and Gonchar played in Pittsburgh. I recall watching Gonchar develop into a solid two way guy in Pittsburgh… had you not shut off your TV you’d recall this as well. That’s like a .3 block per game difference between a guy you overrate badly and a guy who was a massive piece of… Read more »
Gonchar as a Penguin was a fucken Norris contender for more than just offence you fucken idiot
What’s amazing? People have had curious concerns about Letang the whole time, Gonchar came on board as the Pens started to win, guess who stopped listening
Gonchar could go out right now in his suit and skates and run a power play better than LeSuck.
Who’d have thought… the guy that misses Kessel on the PP most so far.. Letang
Magic number for murray tonight
Depends on how many fuck awful choices leading to goals Letang feels like making.
One guy was lights outs at the end of last year, best 3rd period goalie in hockey per the recent graphic… the other is Letang who’s 12 IQ is only challenged by your 11.
See people that get the game don’t blame the goalie for every goal… then there is you and a few others that blame no one else
Don’t get me wrong, a bad goalie is a bad goalie and I’m not blind to a few issues with Murray at times…. but not nearly enough to discuss it over stupid fucken Letang whose still struggling to not be a fucken moron
Yea smart people like u and npl blames on the best D of the team a guy that is used top 3 mins in the league.
Smart people are not blinded by Letangs dick their dreams and can see that past positives don’t overcome current concerns. He’s been a mess for a bit, but you want him in your mouth so bad you won’t admit it.
Pens should have defensive issues deeper in the roster yet Letang was noticeable tonight, you’re dumb
Nice seeing Letang in mid season form. I wonder if there’s an over prop on breakaways he gives up per game.
-2 Letang
Great memories there… Sheary did a solid job
What kind of fucken loser down votes this often, Sam this is why you’ll always be a virgin
Npl thinks eichel is better player then mcdavid and deserves more money on his contract then mcdavid
Malkin ppl goal. Who didnt guess pens first goal of the season will be on pp
Malkin ppl goal? What is a ppl goal?
Blow up the team.. Let’s all become Vegas and Montreal fans.
You Cant you are too quiet to become either teams fan. You are used to be in a museum atmosphere
I am used to be in a museum atmosphere? WTF does that even mean? How many times were you dropped as a child?
Penguins need pp
Shearyyyyy. ZeroTool just came
Twice… I just appreciate the player for what he is and what he did… you’re the stupid fuckk that was mad he wasn’t a superstar… die mad about is sam
-1 Letang
Jesus Christ Letang looks awful!
They need trotman
We finally agree on something
For god sake its the season opener there is no noise its like a funeral home wow
Bernie Sanders hospitalized discomfort chest pain. Wonder if that happened because he had to admit Trump 4 more years
Good on Trump for signing that $1.8 billion autism funding bill
I wonder what that fat npl thinks
Hey zeroTool anyway you can text message your boy toy JT and tell him to shut up. The more he talks the more he sounds like a clown I cant wait October 21st and have this bozo removed from his position
Boy toy trudeau the hypocrite tells a BS he will plant 2 billion trees yet he has 2 different planes to travel
Schiff LOLOLOL
Typical liberals bringing abortion subject along with Same sex marriage in the debate tonight scum trudeau
Good choice by leafs giving the C to Tavares
I hate to say this but I agree with you on this one.
Ya it is a bit of a no brainer at this point. Tavares has the star power and the maturity as well as experience on the resume
Sam is a huge C!
Also a bit of a no brainer lol 😉
Letang “banged up” at practice… Jesus fucken Christ here we go already
Murray injured yet
LOL, look at how fragile you are… the simple mention of Letang being banged up… in the fucken news and you start your whataboutisms…
Letang probably sneezed and now he will be out for a month lol.
I like that he is a brittle one isn’t he…LOL
Agreed Crosby Galchenyuk now letang..I agree Geez why ca’n’t these guys stay healthy
.i played high school, division 1 hockey, and 2 years semi-pro and i missed a total of 2 games…2 practices..
Black Kane suspended 3 games
You do know his 1st name isn’t “Black” right?
just in case for people like NPL when you give full name they wont know which player we are talking about
You mean Evander kane… wow
In other news, Sam spewing his racist agenda again.
Sinking feeling this season is going to suck like Sam at overnight boys camp (sorry NPL, no offense).
Blow it up already? I think this team is going to surprise us.
As long as fraud Murray shows up to work its possible
Matt Murray was 3rd in Games Played from Dec 31st to the end of the season, 7th in ice time, 4th in shots against, 2nd in Saves, 13th in GA although was one of 2 goalies in the top 13 to play 30 or more games (he was the highest playing 34, 4 more than Binnington), was 3rd in SV% at .941, had the 6th best GAA…
You are fucken stupid… also beat MAF over that period in damn near every single statistical category!
They still have a bag of shit on the wings. Malkin needs a resurgence. Sid cannot carry the team again like last season. McCann is still the best center on team not named Crosby or Malkin. Here’s betting Bjugstad is gone by Thanksgiving in package to dump Johnson. Murray sucks ass. Other than that I’m psyched to start the season.
Agree malkin needs to get his head out of his ass and be a superstar not JUST a good player. He makes.dumb passes, costly turnovers, bad penalties and he wont shot the f***ing puck. (He has a bomb for a shot) His problem he has nothing between the ears and zero self confidence all of a sudden what the f***k is that
Murray has to return to form, agreed Bujgstad will be gone, why Johnson isnt just released i can’t figure that out..he sucks
Agreed with you 110% Hockey11
Good points. I hope Bjugstad is moved. He makes way to much in my opinion. If we are going to pay $4 million for a 3rd line center, we should have kept Bones.
Suck on that Yohe! You got burned!
“I don’t think he had the best camp” – so basically we took a shot at a guy that looked terrific in Chicago as an un-drafted “late bloomer” and in doing so shed salary of Maatta as opposed to the garbage in Jack Johnson and now we may have some more dead weight on the wing? Does that about cover that transaction?
Lots of hockey to play but hearing this is fucken disheartening.
I said it before and I will say it again, JR is a great GM in short bursts. He never should have been resigned after his three yrs were up. He maps out a plan, the plan works and then he abandons said plan with terrible contracts.
I mean he made off like gangbusters with the Pettersson acquisition but jesus…
He got US Phil Kessel (helped us win two Cups) He made smart adds in Hagelin, Daley, and Hainsey in the Cup years. Like you said made out in the Petersson deal. i like Galchenyuk, Tanev, and Kahun for our forward group. He acquired from Edmonton John Marino (Harvard player)looks like a good trade he has made the team. All in all solid work…
well said he has done more good then bad
he fixed the mess that Shero have done over the years
with no upcoming forward except for Fraud Beau Bennett
kept on trading the future for washed up players like Brendon Morrow Douglas Murray and list goes on
Sam(e) you just bashes him on the last post. Keep flip flopping like you do with teams.
His 2 worst moves are Anti Neimi and Jack Johnson….no GM ever makes 100% correct decisions…i like the additions of Kahun, Galchenyuk and Tanev. The penguins are younger, faster, and more skilled up front and have some depth now.
Rutherford bad quality admitting when he does make a mistake and not fixing it…like jack johnson his coments are the coaches really like him he is a nice guy and a good penalty killer…we are here to win games not a niceness contest.
Are we forgetting the Brassard disaster?