Aside from the fact that they both hail from western Canada, Justin Schultz has little in common with his lone Penguins namesake. Indeed, Dave “the Hammer” Schultz was a ferocious left wing of modest ability who brawled his way to 535 penalty minutes in 113 games with the locals back in the day.
Justin is quite the opposite—a sublimely skilled defenseman who’s proving to be quite a revelation with his heady and productive play.
Take last night’s 2-1 overtime loss to Toronto, for example. Subbing for injured teammate Kris Letang on the top power-play unit, Schultz gathered in a feed from Sidney Crosby at center point. Eyes deceptively fixed on the Toronto net, he faked a slap shot and slipped a perfectly placed pass into the wheelhouse of Evgeni Malkin at the right hash mark. “Geno” dropped to a knee and drilled a one-timer past Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen for the Pens’ lone goal.
A fluid skater and gifted puckhandler, the Kelowna, B.C. native has authored plenty of pretty plays of late. Indeed, since striking for his first goal of the season on November 30, he’s been positively on fire.
Evoking memories of another fellow who wore No. 4, Schultz has tallied five goals and eight assists over his past 10 games, to go with a sterling plus-12. He’s factored in on no fewer than 13 of the Pens’ last 43 goals—a stunning 30 percent out the team’s output. Along with equally resurgent defense partner, Ian Cole, he’s played a huge part in the back-and-gold’s recent success.
A far cry from last season, when the 6’2” 193-pounder was virtually chased out of Edmonton following an erratic four-year stay pockmarked with bouts of inconsistency and strife.
“You see him come in from Edmonton, where he came in as this highly touted guy and he put up a ton of points, and then you saw that kind of fade away a little bit,” Cole remarked to Jonathan Bombulie in a recent article for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “You’re like, ‘Oh man, what happened?’”
Perhaps a classic case of too much, too soon. After notching 34 goals over his final two seasons at the University of Wisconsin and earning WCHA Defensive Player of the Year honors, Schultz was pursued by virtually every NHL club. Romanced by Oilers Hall-of-Famers Paul Coffey and Wayne Gretzky, he signed a two-year deal with Edmonton in June of 2012.
Expected to be the guy, Schultz enjoyed a strong rookie campaign (eight goals and 27 points in 48 games) in 2012-13. However, after notching a career-best 11 goals the following season, the pressures of carrying the load for a high octane but defensively porous club began to tell. With little help, Schultz’s effectiveness waned. A frequent target of Rexall Place boo birds, he was a hot mess upon his arrival in the ‘Burgh last February.
Determined to bring Schultz along slowly, coach Mike Sullivan and his staff were careful to avoid placing the newcomer in high-pressure situations. Instead, they allowed him to settle into his new surroundings while gradually rebuilding the confidence that had been so thoroughly decimated.
Soon Justin’s burgeoning offensive skills began to re-emerge. In stark contrast to his tortured final weeks out west (minus-13 over a dozen games), he registered eight points and a healthy plus-7 down the homestretch for the Pens. Schultz suited up for 15 games during the team’s Cup run and performed ably, while averaging 13 minutes of ice time in a support role.
An unrestricted free agent this past summer, the 26-year-old rearguard with the ready smile took a large pay cut to sign a one-year deal with the Penguins for $1.4 million.
Thus far, he’s been worth every penny. And then some.
“It just tells you what kind of character the guy has,” Pens GM Jim Rutherford shared with Bombulie. “He found a place where he could continue to develop and get to the level that he’s at. He’s put himself in a good spot.”
Hey Rick,
I am loving it. Schultz is starting to climb up to the level of what people expected. I am not sure if he is completely ready to take on Letang’s role, These next couple of weeks will tell how far he has come.
I for one am hoping the Pens can resign him and make him one of the 6 protected during the expansion draft.
But to change the subject a bit, so far, in two games, Pouliot has looked really good. Yes, opposing teams have gotten a lot of looks, but with the Pens only scoring 1 goal in that span, 1 goal on a boat load of shots, the problem so far really hasn’t been the team D. When the O manages only 1 goal in 2 OT games, breaking 2 sticks at crucial times, even if the D does cut down some of those shots, it really wouldn’t have helped.
Hi Guys,
I think the next 2- 3 weeks will tell us a lot about our team. To be fair there are very few teams who can lose their 2 top puck carrying d men and still not be affected. Not to slight Sid or Geno, but in many respects the one guy we can not afford to lose for an extended period is Letang. I was never a 100% supporter of Le tang,… I thought we paid him to much,… he should 3 inches taller,..he is a little hot headed sometimes…..But the truth is he is still one of the top 10 d men in the league and the Pen’s are a much better team with him in their line up.
With regards to Justin Schultz he is a good talent and he is fitting in nicely with the Pen’s.But my question is that he succeeds because he plays on a deep talented team like the Pen’s as a third pairing and second unit Power play guy. Is he really good enough to pay 5 million plus a year and probably sign a 6 year contract.? Somebody will pay him that,I am not so sure it should be us.
The next two weeks will tell me a lot.
Cheers
Hey Guys,
Justin scored another goal and an assist last night.So far in the month of December he has more points than any other d man in the NHL for the month and he is second in the league in plus minus.
I really hope it continues because somebody will pay this guy a lot of money for his services in the off season.I know I will get some negative feed back on my position,but since the Cap is not going up in 2017-18 Pittsburgh can NOT afford another 6 million dollar+ d man, given we have committed to Crosby, Malkin, Kessel,and Letang.
Adding 4.1 million committed to Matta, 4 million to Hagelin, and 3 million+ to Murray you have 43 million dollars already spent in cap space for only 7 players. Signing Justin would put you close to 50 million in cap space for only 8 players. Plus how do you sign Nick Bonino and Brian D. ??They will want big raises as well.
So while I cheer for Justin deep in my heart I know he will be gone next year barring a major trade.
Your thoughts?
jim
Hey Jim,
As you say, the next few weeks will tell if Schultz’s success is because of his insulation on a very good team or an indication of how much he has matured. I am hoping for the latter. His on ice presence seems to indicate that it may be maturity; he moves with such ease and calm but it may also be the addition of a consistent partner who is maturing rather nicely too. Cole and Schultz look like bread and butter right now.
As I wrote above; I am hoping that the Pens find a way to sign him and keep him through the expansion draft.
A big wild card in all of this discussion just may be that expansion draft. Although I can’t remember if the draft occurs before FA or after, but if it occurs before FA, one those players you just mentioned, Maatta, Hagelin, Murray/Fleury (Fleury in a trade maybe), Bonino, or Domoulin may be gone. So there may be money to keep Schultz.
But then again, the Pens may offer up Schultz in exchange for Murray/Fleury. Although I really like both of those goalies, I hope not. Both deserve to start somewhere and not be shackled to the idea of a 2-starter goalie system that keeps both of them from getting into a groove. And if it is MAF that is moved, there is $5+ mil right there.
I hate looking ahead to the off-season until the next Cup is raised (positive thinking) even though a little over a year ago I was worried about the Pens depth, they just may be deep enough to handle whatever FA and expansion may throw at them and still be in at least a fair position next year.
Just a side note, Thursday against CBJ could be an indicator of whether they need to do something before the play-offs.
Hey guys,
Been out of the loop a little. But excellent stuff, as always … 🙂
Rick