After the Penguins bought out the final three years of his contract on Tuesday, the Rangers brought in Johnson on a one-year deal to have him replace Marc Staal. Johnson struggled in Pittsburgh, making this signing a little curious. But at the very least it allows the Rangers' young defensemen more time to develop.
Gudbranson is entering the final-year of his deal that carries a $4.0M cap-hit. After nine years with the Panthers, Canucks, Penguins and Ducks, Gudbranson gets a chance to play in his hometown. Gudbranson has been much maligned in recent years but brings physicality to a Senators blueline that lost that edge when they let Mark Borowiecki walk in free agency.
Kunin is a pending RFA, who is projected to sign a contract in the range of $3.25M AAV, which would be $850K savings from Nick Bonino's $4.1M AAV cap hit. Kunin is coming off of the best season of his young career, scoring 15 goals with 16 assists (31 points) in 63 games and has even more upside in Nashville, where he'll be surrounded by more top-end talent.
Johnson had three years left with a $3.25M cap hit but is now an unrestricted free agent hoping for one last chance. Johnson's buyout will cost the Penguins $1.17M agains the cap for the next two years, $1.92M in 2023 and $916K AAV from 2024-to-2026 (per PuckPedia). In 2020, Johnson had 11 points (3G / 8A), 183 hits and 97 blocked shots in 67 games.
Merzlikins was banged up in the Blue Jackets’ Game 4 overtime loss to the Maple Leafs and was not available to backup in Game 5. Head coach John Tortorella was not sure how long Merzlikins will be out when he met with the media on Monday. Look for Joonas Korpisalo to start Game 1 vs. Tampa Bay on Tuesday.
Kukan was shaken up early in Game 2 but eventually returned to the game. His removal from the lineup for Game 3 was listed as a "coach's decision." He'll be replace by Markus Nutivaara on Thursday.
Merzlikins exploded onto the scene in his first year in North America, going 13-9-8 with a 2.35 GAA, .923 SV% and five shutouts. Merzlikins went on an eight-game winning streak from mid-January to mid-February and was hurt right before the season paused. This signing comes less than a week after Columbus signed Joonas Korpisalo to a two-year, $5.6 million extension ($2.8M AAV), so they've got their young goaltending duo tied up for the next two seasons at a $6.9M AAV cap-hit.
