On Friday afternoon, the Caps addressed that need on the right side with the signing of Justin Schultz, who has been with Pittsburgh for the last several seasons. Schultz signed a two-year contract with Washington, a deal that carries an annual salary cap hit of $4 million.
The Caps expect Schultz to be a good fit with the style of hockey new bench boss Peter Laviolette likes to play. Laviolette, an offensive-minded defenseman himself during his playing days, likes his blueliners to push the play and to jump into the attack from the back end.
A 30-year-old native of Kelowna, B.C., Schultz was originally a second-round choice of the Anaheim Ducks in the 2008 NHL Draft. But he never played for Anaheim, instead opting to sign as a free agent with Edmonton upon concluding his collegiate career at the University of Wisconsin in 2011-12.
After a brief 34-game apprenticeship with Oklahoma City of the AHL in 2012-13 (winning the Eddie Shore Trophy as the league's outstanding defenseman), Schultz ascended to the NHL as soon as the lockout of '12-13 ended. He skated in all 48 games with the Oilers as an NHL rookie, totaling eight goals and 27 points, making the League's all-rookie team and finishing seventh in Calder Trophy balloting.
Midway through his fourth season with the Oilers, Edmonton traded Schultz to Pittsburgh for a third-round pick in the 2016 draft, a deal that went down on Feb. 27, 2016. Schultz was a member of Stanley Cup championship teams with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017. He missed a total of 23 games with lower body injuries last season and was limited to just 29 games in 2018-19 because of a fractured lower left leg.
Over the course of his eight-year NHL career, Schultz has amassed 50 goals and 214 points in 482 regular season games while averaging 20:55 per night in ice time. He has averaged roughly eight goals and 36 points per 82 games during his NHL career. Schultz also has six goals and 29 points in 56 career Stanley Cup playoff contests, all in a Pittsburgh uniform.
Schultz joins Norris Trophy runner-up John Carlson and Nick Jensen on the right side of Washington's blueline depth chart. The Caps have Dmitry Orlov, Brenden Dillon, Jonas Siegenthaler as well as youngsters Alex Alexeyev, Martin Fehervary and Lucas Johansen on the left side.
