11/21/24
September 29, 2006
Canes ship stud D-man prospect Jack Johnson to the Kings.: The Canes wanted last year's 3rd overall draft pick Johnson to play for them. He wanted to keep playing for the University of Michigan Wolverines. They blinked and traded away somebody that - who knows - could be an NHL star. Your trivia answer is then "for defenceman Tim Gleason and centre Eric Belanger".
Wow, what a bombshell. Rutherford must have been in panic mode and made an impulse (not looking at the big picture) move. Maybe Johnson told him that he was going to finish college (he's been a lifelong UofM fan) before playing in the NHL. I believe that he's only going to be a sophomore, so that's a minimum of three more years.
posted by wingnut4life at 02:45 PM on September 29, 2006
Yea wingnut, thats what I heard.. You figure in 3 years anything could happen... I don't blame them for making this move but I'll be the first to say 'Damn' when Johnson turns into a stud say 5 years out. This may be the worst move they have made so far, but only time will tell... They sure made a great move grabbing Brind'Amour from the Flyers back in the day.. Can you tell I'm a jilted Philly sports fan??
posted by myshtigo at 04:01 PM on September 29, 2006
Yeah, maybe questionable judgement here, but let's not condemn the guy who put together the freaking defending champs before they even have a chance to lose a game.
posted by fatfryar at 04:25 PM on September 29, 2006
McKenzies' article is spot on. Having seen this kid play he is very impressive in person and on a few occassions I've seen him totally dominate both ends of the ice. I think he's getting a bum rap from some for chosing an education for now. Besides Go Blue.......
posted by skydivedad at 11:28 AM on September 30, 2006
I am *certain* that Rutherford tried to get more for this idiot kid and his moronic father. I am not sure what the problem was, but drafting out of highschool is NEVER EVER a good idea. (IMHO) I wish Jimbo had got more - but what the heck, the kid has made a mess of things by allowing his father to call the shots. He will be good, but cancerous everywhere he goes. As far as the pundits go - they had the 'Canes not even making the playoffs last year. I find them to be rather dumb (how do they get paid??)
posted by storagepro at 02:13 PM on September 30, 2006
he was told outright (by the kid himself or his father) that Jack Johnson would never play for the Canes. Tell him McDonald's is hiring. At least it's a REAL job.
posted by joromu at 08:44 PM on September 30, 2006
The Canes also shipped Oleg "the Turn Over Machine" Tverdovsky and his 5 million bucks to the Kings. As for the Jack Johnson thing, I'm not sure what Rutherford was thinking here. Either he's been huffing starting fluid again or he was told outright (by the kid himself or his father) that Jack Johnson would never play for the Canes. I can't imagine that Rutherford is panicking that hard about the dire defense situation right now.