Confirmed with Link: Capitals sign Justin Schultz to 2 year deal 4 Mil AAV

[AlexBrovechkin8]

They probably paid a bit more in AAV to keep the term short which is the exact opposite of what they did with other free agent signings in recent years, which is interesting.

This is pretty much exactly the type of player they needed to acquire and It's why I proposed trading for Ghost. They need mobility and puck movement back there. Carlson is slow and Siegs looks like he's skating in quicksand so if they signed another plodder they'd have half their defense who couldn't skate. Kempny was rumored to be a crater defensively when we got him too but he was the right fit and played well above what we acquired to get him. It's obviously a huge risk because Schultz last year was a mess but the combination of returning from injury and spending time with Jack Johnson would do that to most people, I suspect. I guess I'm just not as apocalyptic about this signing as everyone else.

 

[Corby78]

They probably paid a bit more in AAV to keep the term short which is the exact opposite of what they did with other free agent signings in recent years, which is interesting.

This is pretty much exactly the type of player they needed to acquire and It's why I proposed trading for Ghost. They need mobility and puck movement back there. Carlson is slow and Siegs looks like he's skating in quicksand so if they signed another plodder they'd have half their defense who couldn't skate. Kempny was rumored to be a crater defensively when we got him too but he was the right fit and played well above what we acquired to get him. It's obviously a huge risk because Schultz last year was a mess but the combination of returning from injury and spending time with Jack Johnson would do that to most people, I suspect. I guess I'm just not as apocalyptic about this signing as everyone else.

I hope your right because everything I’ve read says he can’t skate anymore, and he still stinks defensively. So another Kempny but more expensive

 

[Langway]

For me I've never really liked the player even when he was healthy and playing better and at this stage it's hard to give the benefit of the doubt when he may be at something of a crossroads in his career. He's always been pretty soft and on this team that's a dangerous element to add without more confidence in the reward being forthcoming. He's a two-win Cup winner, of course, but those Pittsburgh teams were pretty tenacious. That element is at least in some doubt in their team identity. Laviolette will no doubt try to get them far more invested than they have been but, again, this is not exactly the type of player you add when you're concerned about The Culture. It's a sort of hail mary upside addition where they're banking on his ability from his first two plus seasons in Pittsburgh but there were reasons why a 25 year old primarily offensive-defenseman was available for a third round pick. And, in the meantime, there's been two pretty injury-filled seasons. To put themselves in a cap bind on Day 1 for this player seems really unnecessary. They do need more puck movement from the back-end and his outlets may help structurally. But if Laviolette's message is not getting through or if their habits aren't on point this is a potentially limited player whose weaknesses could relegate him to a pure depth role with no specialty. I hope he bounces back. They're going to need it to contend and if he does then at his best maybe he's a 40-50 point defenseman again. But I don't know how realistic that is or if he'll even manage to play a full season of even mediocre hockey. The downside seems much more realistic barring some sort of developmental breakthrough and a clean bill of health. (Again, I'd maybe have a little more confidence in the developmental aspect if they had an assistant hired for the defense. It's a really important hire.)

I was iffy on Gustafsson for somewhat similar reasons but he at least has a better recent injury history and a couple of years on Schultz. He's a lefty and maybe he'll warrant more term but likely less AAV to the point where a trade doesn't have to be made. Mainly I just have a tough time envisioning any skilled soft defensemen in this system doing well given the warts this team has. To expect Laviolette to clean that up in pretty veteran group is asking a lot. Maybe it works but for now it's a mix that has more drama potential than I'd want.

 

[TheLegendOfPatPeake]

They probably paid a bit more in AAV to keep the term short which is the exact opposite of what they did with other free agent signings in recent years, which is interesting.

This is pretty much exactly the type of player they needed to acquire and It's why I proposed trading for Ghost. They need mobility and puck movement back there. Carlson is slow and Siegs looks like he's skating in quicksand so if they signed another plodder they'd have half their defense who couldn't skate. Kempny was rumored to be a crater defensively when we got him too but he was the right fit and played well above what we acquired to get him. It's obviously a huge risk because Schultz last year was a mess but the combination of returning from injury and spending time with Jack Johnson would do that to most people, I suspect. I guess I'm just not as apocalyptic about this signing as everyone else.

Coming off a shattered ankle and bad knee....I’m all for being positive but that is pretty worrisome.

 

[caps4cup]

I hope your right because everything I’ve read says he can’t skate anymore, and he still stinks defensively. So another Kempny but more expensive

Everything you’ve read from Penguins fans? The most vocal Pens fans on the board blindly defend whatever Rutherford does so I would take whatever they say with a huge grain of salt. Case in point: they traded a good top 6 RW in Hornqvist for a defensemen that is worse than Schultz, with 6 years left and making nearly 5mil per year. He was so bad they moved him to forward. Yet some of their fans will go to the ends of the earth to justify the move, while not being able to look at simple stats with Schultz that paint the obvious picture that he was actually good this year away from Jack Johnson.

They love bashing their players when they’re moved also and then suddenly change tune when they’re brought back or the idea is brought up (Sheary, Rodrigues, Kahun, Hagelin).

Just wait until Schultz is paired with a good defensemen all of next season and they’ll all be bitching again.

 

[max21]

I try not to listen to Pens fans, they pretty much got rid of their only grit player in Horny for Matheson who straight up sucks. When Shultz isn’t paired with Jack Johnson he isn’t bad, but I still don’t like how much money it is and makes me wonder about Vrana/Ovi deals next year.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

It’s more or less a 1 year deal for 3mi (4mil cap hit) and then sent to Seattle

 

[francaisvolantsparis]

24h later I still doesn't get why we gave such big money to a such terrible and useless player. JS scored exactly ZERO first assists 5v5 in 46 regular games this season. If GM signed him for his offensive abilities, he has it in his a**.

 

[Langway]

It’s more or less a 1 year deal for 3mi (4mil cap hit) and then sent to Seattle

That's going to take some incentives because otherwise I'd bet on either Siegenthaler or Jensen. That will be in addition to whatever they may need to send, say, Ottawa or Detroit to take on Panik or Hagelin. Not a great strategy for an organization relatively depleted.

 

[Carlzner]

24h later I still doesn't get why we gave such big money to a such terrible and useless player. JS scored exactly ZERO first assists 5v5 in 46 regular games this season. If GM signed him for his offensive abilities, he has it in his a**.

I don't think this is a good signing but it was for his first pass ability out of the zone, not his offense (Which is something Shattenkirk was god awful at so...)

 

[SpinningEdge]

So far:
lost Holtby 6 mil and gudas 3.3 for almost 10 mil cap space

added Lundqvist 1.5 and Schultz 4 for 5.5 mil total

so far the caps have saved money and gotten better with who they’ve lost Vs brought in

 

[caps4cup]

So far:
lost Holtby 6 mil and gudas 3.3 for almost 10 mil cap space

added Lundqvist 1.5 and Schultz 4 for 5.5 mil total

so far the caps have saved money and gotten better with who they’ve lost Vs brought in

Not to mention the huge upgrade from Reirden to Laviolette.

 

[Corby78]

So far:
lost Holtby 6 mil and gudas 3.3 for almost 10 mil cap space

added Lundqvist 1.5 and Schultz 4 for 5.5 mil total

so far the caps have saved money and gotten better with who they’ve lost Vs brought in

I don’t see lundquist being an upgrade over holtby. If Sammy can take holtby’s spot then I would agree lundquist is an upgrade over Copley or vanacek

 

[caps4cup]

I don’t see lundquist being an upgrade over holtby. If Sammy can take holtby’s spot then I would agree lundquist is an upgrade over Copley or vanacek

Goalies are very inconsistent so it’s hard to count on anything, but on paper Lundqvist > Holtby based on their performances the last 3 years.

 

[SpinningEdge]

I don’t see lundquist being an upgrade over holtby. If Sammy can take holtby’s spot then I would agree lundquist is an upgrade over Copley or vanacek

I’m not saying that’s an upgrade - it’s close. However, schultz is deffff > gudas. So if you just take the 2 players who left so far vs what caps got - caps got better overall at half the cost.

 

[trick9]

I usually like GMBMs moves but this is just a mind-boggling one. With the current market being as it is this isn't really the time to buy high on a reclamation project.

 

[Bananas]

Was hoping for a much, much better add with the subtraction of Holtby.

 

[895]

I'll decide how I feel about when after I see what Barrie signs for.

If Barrie signs for more, okay, fair enough.

If Barrie gets less than we f***ed up.

So Barrie got 1x3.75m lol

 

[trick9]

Stecher 1.7m, 2-year contract... To Detroit.

 

[LesDiablesRouges]

Vegas shopping Nate Schmidt. Ughhhhh.

 

[Calicaps]

So Barrie got 1x3.75m lol

Someone else said he was offered more by other teams but took less to go there.

 

[caps4cup]

Vegas shopping Nate Schmidt. Ughhhhh.

His contract would have been a little rich for the Caps, unless Orlov was dealt (presumably for a cheaper middle 6 forward), which theoretically still could happen.

 

[um]

Vegas shopping Nate Schmidt. Ughhhhh.

How many rumours are out there now? 90% of them are baloney.

 

[895]

His contract would have been a little rich for the Caps, unless Orlov was dealt (presumably for a cheaper middle 6 forward), which theoretically still could happen.

Would rather have Schmidt and Stetcher than Dillon and Schultz.

 

[BHD]

He’s fine as long as he plays less than 10:00 a game alongside a physical dman with OZ starts only.