Noon Fringe Signings (Jul 1)

One of the more higher dollar figure fringe signings of the day came from the Pittsburgh Penguins, who got their beaks on defenseman Jack Johnson, signing him to a 5-year, $16.25 million deal on Sunday.  Johnson played in 77 games last season for the Blue Jackets and posted 3 goals and 11 points in those games, well down from where his numbers should be and well down from where that money should be spent on.  The Penguins have obviously seen more than enough of Johnson in the past few years, as a division rival, so they must know what they're paying for in this case.

This move does put the Penguins nice and tight up to the salary cap ceiling already, as my current projected 23-man roster only sits over $1.9 million from the top of the charts.  Only Los Angeles has less cap room than them at the moment.