Depending on the respective injury statuses of Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust, the Penguins may have to make a trade to become compliant with the salary cap before the season begins.



One way or the other, a fairly strong chance remains that Jack Johnson won’t be on the roster when the Penguins open the season on Oct. 3 against the Buffalo Sabres.



A source within the Penguins organization and an independent league source both confirmed that Johnson was told over the weekend that many potential deals are on the table for general manager Jim Rutherford, and that Johnson is involved in the majority of them. Although a trade isn’t certain, Rutherford, according to sources, wanted to be transparent with Johnson about the situation and warned him that a trade within the next 48 hours is quite possible. Rutherford and Johnson have long enjoyed a warm relationship and, according to sources, the general manager wants to keep the 32-year-old defenseman aware of all...