Justin Schultz

Justin Schultz (born July 6, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). Schultz was born in Kelowna, British Columbia, and grew up in the nearby City of West Kelowna, British Columbia. He has previously played in the NHL for the Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins. Schultz won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

Justin Schultz
Schultz with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2017
Born (1990-07-06) July 6, 1990
Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams		 Washington Capitals
Edmonton Oilers
Pittsburgh Penguins
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 43rd overall, 2008
Anaheim Ducks
Playing career 2012–present

Playing career

Schultz played collegiate hockey in the NCAA for the University of Wisconsin, which competed in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). He played in 121 games and scored 40 goals and 73 assists.

Schultz appeared in 248 games for the Oilers before being traded to Pittsburgh in 2016.

Drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in 2008, Schultz was unable to come to terms on a contract with the team. During the last week of May 2012, Schultz officially "de-registered" from the University of Wisconsin triggering a process that made him an unrestricted free agent (UFA). According to league rules, from the time Anaheim was given notice of the de-registration from school, they had a 30-day exclusive window to try to sign him or trade him.[1] Anaheim was ultimately unable to sign him. Schultz was heavily recruited by up to 26 teams as a free agent, with the Edmonton Oilers having Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey personally recruit him.[2]

Edmonton Oilers

On June 30, 2012, Schultz agreed to a two-year, entry-level contract with the Oilers.[3]

Due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout that cancelled the first three months of the 2012–13 NHL season, Schultz played the first 34 games of his professional career in the American Hockey League (AHL) for the Oilers' affiliate, the Oklahoma City Barons, recording 48 points to lead all AHL defencemen in scoring. He was ultimately awarded the AHL's Eddie Shore Award in 2012–13 as the league's top defenceman, despite participating in less than half of Oklahoma City's games.[4]

Schultz later played his first NHL game in the first Oilers game following the 2012–13 NHL lock-out against the Vancouver Canucks. He scored his first goal during the next game, the Oilers' home opener, against Antti Niemi of the San Jose Sharks on January 22, 2013.[5]

On August 28, 2014, Schultz signed a new one-year contract with the Oilers valued at $3.675 million.[6]

Schultz won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins in the 2016 and 2017.

Pittsburgh Penguins

On February 27, 2016, with the Oilers out of playoff contention for the 2015–16 season, and suffering the worst season of his professional career with 10 points in 45 games, Schultz was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.[7] On June 12, 2016, Schultz won the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh after the team defeated the San Jose Sharks in the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals.

On July 13, 2016, after testing free agency, Schultz returned to the Penguins, signing a one-year, $1.4 million contract.[8] In the 2016–17 season, Schultz had a break-out year in his first full season with the Penguins, setting career-highs in goals (12), assists (39), points (51), penalties in minutes (34), power-play points (20) and shots on goal (154). In addition, for the first time in his career, he finished a season with a positive plus-minus. His total number of assists, points, points per game played and plus-minus each finished within the top-ten in their respective categories among defencemen, and he emerged as the top blue-liner for the Penguins due to star defenceman Kris Letang being limited to only 41 games with various injuries. On June 11, 2017, Schultz won his second Stanley Cup title as a member of the Penguins after Pittsburgh defeated the Nashville Predators in the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals.[9]

On July 1, 2017, the first day of free agency, Schultz signed a three-year, $16.5 million contract to stay with Pittsburgh.[10] In the 2017–18 season, Schultz suffered a lower-body injury in a game against the New York Rangers and was placed on injured reserve (IR).[11] He returned to the lineup on January 4, 2018, after missing 11 games.[12][13] Schultz played in his 400th career NHL game on March 23, 2018, in a game against the New Jersey Devils.[14]

On October 13, 2018, just days into the 2018–19 season, Schultz broke his leg in Pittsburgh's game against the Montreal Canadiens.[15] He was placed on IR and would not play until mid-February 2019.[16] One week after his return, he then scored his first goal of the season in the 2019 NHL Stadium Series game against the Philadelphia Flyers.[17] His 2019–20 season was mired by injuries[18][19] and lacked offensive production (12 points in 46 games). During the subsequent off-season, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford revealed the organization would "move on" from Schultz, choosing not to re-sign him.[20]

Washington Capitals

On October 9, 2020, Schultz signed as a free agent on a two-year, $8 million contract with the Washington Capitals.[21]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2006–07 Westside Warriors BCHL 2 1 0 1 0 — — — — —
2007–08 Westside Warriors BCHL 57 9 31 40 28 11 3 5 8 4
2008–09 Westside Warriors BCHL 49 15 35 50 29 6 1 2 3 2
2009–10 University of Wisconsin WCHA 43 6 16 22 12 — — — — —
2010–11 University of Wisconsin WCHA 41 18 29 47 28 — — — — —
2011–12 University of Wisconsin WCHA 37 16 28 44 12 — — — — —
2012–13 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 34 18 30 48 6 — — — — —
2012–13 Edmonton Oilers NHL 48 8 19 27 8 — — — — —
2013–14 Edmonton Oilers NHL 74 11 22 33 16 — — — — —
2014–15 Edmonton Oilers NHL 81 6 25 31 12 — — — — —
2015–16 Edmonton Oilers NHL 45 3 7 10 14 — — — — —
2015–16 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 18 1 7 8 2 15 0 4 4 0
2016–17 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 78 12 39 51 34 21 4 9 13 4
2017–18 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 63 4 23 27 14 12 1 7 8 2
2018–19 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 29 2 13 15 4 4 1 2 3 0
2019–20 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 46 3 9 12 6 4 0 1 1 0
NHL totals 482 50 164 214 110 56 6 23 29 6
Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing  Canada West
World Junior A Challenge
2008 Camrose

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2013 Canada WC 5th 8 0 4 4 2
Senior totals 8 0 4 4 2

Awards and honours
AwardsYearRef
College
All-WCHA Rookie Team 2009–10
All-WCHA First Team 2010–11 [22]
WCHA Defensive Player of the Year 2010–11 [23]
AHCA West First-Team All-American 2010–11
All-WCHA First Team 2011–12 [24]
WCHA Defensive Player of the Year 2011–12
AHCA West First-Team All-American 2011–12
AHL
CCM/AHL Player of the Week (Ending Oct 21) 2012–13 [25]
CCM/AHL Player of the Month (Oct 2012) 2012–13 [26]
CCM/AHL Rookie of the Month (Nov 2012) 2012–13 [27]
AHL Defenseman of the Year 2012–13 [28]
NHL
NHL All-Rookie Team 2012–13 [29]
Stanley Cup (Pittsburgh Penguins) 2015–16, 2016–17 [30]

References
  1. "Flyers free agent target Justin Schultz". CSN Philly. May 22, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  2. "Cult of Hockey: After all that hype, Justin Schultz departs Edmonton in exchange for a third-round draft pick". February 28, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  3. "Oilers agree to terms with highly sought-after free agent, Justin Schultz". Edmonton Oilers. June 30, 2012.
  4. "TheAHL.com | The American Hockey League | Home Page". theahl.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  5. "Sharks 6, Oilers 3 Boxscore". National Hockey League. January 22, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  6. "Loaded with potential, Schultz signs with Oilers for important season". Edmonton Oilers. August 28, 2014.
  7. "Oilers deal Justin Schultz to Penguins for a pick". Yahoo! Sports. February 27, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  8. "AP Source: Justin Schultz returns to Penguins on one-year deal". Sportsnet, sportsnet.ca. July 13, 2016. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  9. "Penguins repeat as Stanley Cup champions". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. June 11, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
  10. "Justin Schultz signs three-year contract with Penguins". NHL.com. July 1, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  11. "Penguins place Justin Schultz on IR, recall Frank Corrado". Sportsnet.ca. Sportsnet. December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  12. Kurtz, George (January 4, 2018). "Slew of Injured Players Return for NHL's Second Half". rotoexperts.com. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  13. "Penguins score 4 in 2nd period to top Flyers 5-1". foxsports.com. Philadelphia. January 2, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  14. "Hall's winner lifts Devils past Penguins in OT". tsn.ca. March 23, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2018. Penguins D Justin Schultz's 400th NHL game included a trip to the trainer's room when he slammed into the boards in the third period, though Sullivan said afterward Schultz was fine.
  15. Mackey, Jason (October 14, 2018). "Postgame: Injury to Justin Schultz gruesome, potentially serious". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  16. Bombuile, Jonathan (February 16, 2019). "Penguins' Justin Schultz makes impact in return from broken leg". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  17. Carchidi, Sam. "Flyers stun Penguins with late run, overtime goal in Stadium Series game played at Lincoln Financial Field". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  18. "Schultz is out "longer term" with lower-body injury. Bjugstad had surgery for "core muscle" injury. He will be out roughly 8 weeks. #Pens -SK". Twitter. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  19. Guerriero, Justin. "Penguins notebook: Sidney Crosby gets scheduled day off practice". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  20. DeFabo, Mike. "GM Jim Rutherford on how he plans to retool the Penguins". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  21. "Capitals sign defenseman Justin Schultz". Washington Capitals. October 9, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  22. "Matt Frattin, Jake Gardiner Named To All-WCHA Teams". Toronto Maple Leafs. April 15, 2011. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  23. "Schultz to make decision on Saturday". National Hockey League. June 29, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  24. "Patterson, Bjugstad named to all-WCHA first team". Minnesota Star Tribune. April 5, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  25. "Baron's Schultz Named Player of the Week". American Hockey League. December 5, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
  26. "Schultz Named CCM/AHL Player of the Month". American Hockey League. November 1, 2012. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  27. "Schultz Named Top Rookie for November". American Hockey League. December 3, 2012. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  28. "Schultz captures AHL's Eddie Shore Award". American Hockey League. April 17, 2013. Archived from the original on August 10, 2016.
  29. "Habs' Gallagher, Oilers' Schultz named to NHL All-Rookie team". TSN. June 29, 2013.
  30. "Penguins win Stanley Cup, defeat Sharks in Game 6". National Hockey League. June 12, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
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