The Penguins signed former Capitals goaltender Brent Johnson. While serving as a part-time starter for the Capitals last season, Johnson appeared in 21 games and had a 12-6-2 record with a 2.81 goals against average and .908 save percentage.
Hip surgery forced Johnson, 32, out of the lineup for the Capitals' final 30 regular season games and all 14 of their playoff games.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Johnson has also played with the Blue and Coyotes in his NHL career.
EN Says: We really like this move. It reminds us of the Ty Conklin signing two seasons ago. The Penguins kind of expected Dany Sabourin to be the backup goaltender before the 2007-08 season but signed Conklin, a player with significiant NHL experience to compete for the backup position. When Sabourin faltered as a fill-in for the injured Marc-Andre Fleury, Conklin was able to step in and preform marvelously.
Now we're not expecting Johnson to do what Conklin did two seasons ago, but he provides some solid insurance should the unproven John Curry not be up to the task of being Fleury's backup next season.
Note: Johnson has apparently bought a Stairway to Heaven:
Note Two: Johnson's contract is a one-way deal for one year at $525,000. That likely means he'll be the backup out of training camp and John Curry will be the top goaltender at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
(Photo: Al Bello/Getty Images)
Posted
Jul 21 2009, 04:30 PM
by
Seth Rorabaugh