Some moves are bad, but soon forgotten. Some reverberate. Some continue to hamstring a hockey team long after they are executed.
Exhibit A was and always will be Jim Rutherford's curious decision — putting it mildly — to sign aging defensemen Jack Johnson to a five-year, $16.25 million contract in the summer of 2018.
With apologies to the great Zigmund Palffy, Johnson was the worst free agent signing in franchise history. His contract kept the Penguins from making other constructive moves. It even continued to eat away at their cap long after he was gone, once the famously stubborn Rutherford finally swallowed his pride and called for a buyout.
Well, it looks like Ron Hextall might have outdone Rutherford, who at least had earned the benefit of the doubt by winning Stanley Cups. Hextall's teams have won zero playoff series in his approximate 6 1/2 years as a general manger with the Flyers and Penguins — and he has made not one, but two horrendous signings that continue to live long and very unproductive lives.
The first happened in January 2022, when Hextall extended then-37-year-old center Jeff Carter through the 2023-24 season at a rate of $3.125 annually. Carter has since disintegrated, although he was having a decent season when Hextall made the move.
Two years seemed like one too many then. It seems like two years too many now. Carter's struggles not only left a hole at the critical third-line center role, they also made it difficult to judge the players who've skated on his wings. Is Brock McGinn as bad as he looked in not recording a single point for over a month?
And now all of this has led to the acquisition of 30-something forward Mikael Granlund, who brings a $5 million cap hit for the next two seasons and perhaps a set of declining skills (although he did have 64 points last season). Does that move prevent a Jason Zucker signing this offseason?
What are the other possible ramifications, all caused by the Kapanen and Carter deals? It's like a math equation that always adds up to infinity.
Having said that, the Carter extension looks like a stroke of genius compared to the Kapanen deal — two years, $6.4 million last July. And this isn't a case of hindsight being 20/20. Literally every person who has ever witnessed a hockey game ripped the move.
Kapanen was a horrible underachiever last season. This was the Penguins' chance to start over with somebody else. What in the world were they thinking?
Better question: How did Hextall arrive at that decision?
Did he lock himself in a room and unilaterally decide Kapanen returning was a swell idea? He often was accused of being the insular type in Philly, but I find it hard to believe he did that here. This had to be a group decision — and a group failure.
I have to believe Mike Sullivan endorsed the move.
And at what point do we wonder why some players — Jared McCann, Sam Lafferty, Kapanen, etc. — seem to work better with other coaches and in other systems?
Anyway, and I can only state this so many ways, Kapanen's constant failures have helped to create a chain reaction. First, his money obviously could have been used on a different player. Second, if he'd taken off the way the Penguins envisioned — as a top-six winger — they likely don't trade for Rickard Rakell, who has turned out to be one of Hextall's better moves, yes, but whose money might have been better spent elsewhere.
And now the third line will feature Granlund, Danton Heinen and ... who? Carter?
The Penguins had a better roster when Hextall arrived. Many factors, including an expansion draft that Hextall didn't handle well, have contributed to the current state of the club. It's a constant cap crunch. Hextall had significant challenges. I won't deny that.
But if I told you a month ago that you could trade Carter and Kapanen for any combination of McCann, Brandon Tanev, Lafferty and Evan Rodrigues, would you have?
Every GM in hockey history would have. Rodrigues signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Stanley Cup-champion Colorado Avalanche. The Penguins could have kept him and partially paid for another player at the cost of Kapanen. Lafferty became a coveted player with his speed, physicality and double-digit goal total. McCann is headed for 35-some goals in Seattle, where the Kraken have been the NHL's surprise team.
Tanev is having a career year in Seattle, as well. For the combined price of just over $4 million, Tanev and another Penguins castoff, Daniel Sprong, have contributed a combined 26 goals, 58 points and plus-30 rating to Seattle's fourth line. Thanks in large part to the Kapanen disaster, the Penguins are desperately scrambling to form a decent third line.
I suppose it's possible Hextall might make another move before Friday's 3 p.m. deadline.
You can take that as good news or bad.
