Bryan Rust and Jack Johnson had an adversarial relationship when they were teammates with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

And it’s easy to understand why.

Rust is a proud product of Notre Dame.

And Johnson? Well, he’s a Michigan man.

So when the Wolverines thumped the Fighting Irish, 45-14, in a football game Oct. 26, 2019, Rust had to wear the maize and blue — in this case, a hat and T-shirt — after practice in Cranberry a few days later.

It was a humble way to settle a bet. But it was an easy thing to do for Rust given his relationship with Johnson.

“Super nice guy,” said Rust, a right winger on the Penguins top line. “Super easy to talk to. Didn’t carry an ego, didn’t do anything like that. Came to the rink, did his business, had some laughs, worked hard. He was an awesome teammate.”

Johnson was a roundly popular teammate during his two seasons with the Penguins. But niceties were scarce from the populace as Johnson’s presence was heavily scrutinized from the moment former general manager Jim Rutherford signed him to a five-year contract with a salary cap hit of $3.25 million in July 2018.

And little Johnson did over the next two seasons did much to quell that disenchantment. Primarily relegated to the bottom-two defensive pairings, his possession metrics were always in the red. Add in two quick exits from the playoffs by the Penguins, and Johnson became the focal point of plenty of skeptics.

By October 2020, with the NHL — to say nothing of the entire Earth — struggling with the blunt financial realities of the pandemic, the Penguins opted to buy out the final three years of Johnson’s contract. They are still dealing with the ramifications of that decision as Johnson will count $916,667 against the Penguins’ salary cap figure until the conclusion of the 2025-26 season.

Current Penguins defensemen P.O Joseph ($825,000), Chad Ruhwedel ($800,000), John Ludvig ($775,000) and Ryan Shea ($775,000) all count less against the Penguins’ salary cap according to Cap Friendly.

“I got a call from Jimmy letting me know it was going to happen,” said Johnson, now a member of the Colorado Avalanche. “There was nothing left to do. I just told him thank you for the opportunity to be here. I enjoyed every minute. It was a pleasure to be here. I just said I was sorry that we didn’t accomplish more. I talked to (coach Mike Sullivan), too. Said the same thing. I thanked him for my time here. Same thing. It was a pleasure being here.”

Despite so much venom being directed his way, Johnson professed he kept any and all negativity out of his orbit.

“Whatever outside noise was there — good, bad or ugly — he just didn’t pay attention,” Rust said. “You’ve got to give credit to him. That’s not necessarily the easiest thing.”

While the results weren’t there on the ice, Johnson enjoyed his time with the Penguins.

“I’ve got nothing but great memories here,” Johnson said after practice Wednesday at PPG Paints Arena. “My family really enjoyed living here. The organization was awesome. I have nothing but great things to say about it. Great things to say about my time here. Everyone I interacted with was awesome. My teammates here were fantastic.”

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After spending the 2020-21 season with the New York Rangers, Johnson signed a one-year contract with the Avalanche for a then-league minimum of $750,000 in October 2021 after attending training camp on a professional tryout contract.

Eight months later, Johnson won the Stanley Cup for the first time in his career.

“It’s just been a good fit for me all away around with the players, management, coaching staff, everyone,” Johnson said of his time with the Avalanche. “It’s just been a pleasure to be here. I feel really blessed to be a part of it. Around great players, great people. It’s been something that’s worked.”

After signing a one-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks for $950,000 during the 2022 offseason, Johnson was traded back to the Avalanche in March at the 2023 trade deadline, then re-signed with the Avalanche in July, agreeing to another one-year deal worth the new league minimum of $775,000.

Once a top-pairing defenseman during his halcyon days with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the early 2000s who played in virtually every situation, Johnson is now a bottom-pairing entity whose only special teams ice time comes with the penalty kill.

Entering Thursday’s game against the Penguins, Johnson had appeared in six games this season and recorded one assist. Primarily deployed on the third pairing, he has averaged 14 minutes, 5 seconds of ice time, including 1:20 in short-handed scenarios.

What allows him to still be a regular in the lineup for one of the NHL’s best teams in his 18th season?

“I know he’s changed his game and adapted his game over the course of time to stay effective in different areas,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “He was probably a little bit more of an offensive guy (earlier in his career) and now he’s accepted a shutdown role, a penalty-kill role. Minutes have probably gone down from when he first came in the league. Just making sure that you’re a sought-after guy in any certain area that you can help the team win, I think he’s done that. Adapted.”

What hasn’t changed is Johnson’s popularity with teammates.

“He’s an awesome guy,” Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon said. “Super fun to be around. Keeps it light. He’s the same every day. There’s no difference in his mood or personality any day. He keeps it light. Obviously, he’s a gamer for us. Plays a lot of tough minutes.”

Johnson has had some tough moments in his existence as an NHLer, on and off the ice. But that hasn’t befouled his perspective on where he is at the moment.

“I’m enjoying life,” Johnson said. “Things have been great. I’ve had a lot of fun the last couple of years. A lot of great memories and big milestones. I’ve been really blessed the last couple of years.”

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