News Article: Edmonton Oilers should seriously consider trading Justin Schultz at the deadline

[Broilers]

If you can move Schutz and a pick for Harmonic then you make that trade. Right now we need Schultz but we actually need to upgrade the top 2 RD. Schultz is fine in the third pairing but not at a 4 mil cap hit.

This is how I see things as well. Schultz is a good complementary player in the top4. It is very difficult to uppgrade him. Hammonic could be an uppgrade ....

This is how I see our D should be

Nurse. Hammonic
Klefbom Sekera
Reinhart Davidson
Fayne

I would package our 1st rounder with Schultz to get Hammonic but in the off season in a case it is not top3 pick

 

[CaptainSexyPants]

Nope, thats revisionist history, I clearly remember he was considered a guy that would have been a top 5-10 pick by Bob Mackenzie and a future top pairing Dman. He absolutely was considered a blue-chip prospect.

This is how I remember it as well. Definitely thought of as a blue chip guy.

Personally, I'd like to see A) how Schultz does in a more fitting place on the depth chart, and B) more than 15 games under McLellan.

203 of his 218 GP in the NHL have been under a revolving door/borderline PeeWee coaching staff. Why on earth would we trade him for scraps before he's even given a full season with competent people? If he could be the center piece in a trade for a guy like Hamonic, well then naturally you'd do it, but barring that it doesn't make a lot of sense in my mind.

 

[Broilers]

We have already commited to 63,5M in salaries for the next season. We have 8-9M to sign top pairing right shot defenseman. By qualfying Schultz and Kassian it is no chance to uppgrade the defense corps. We have no other option but trade Schultz for whatever we can get

 

[Bangers]

We have already commited to 63,5M in salaries for the next season. We have 8-9M to sign top pairing right shot defenseman. By qualfying Schultz and Kassian it is no chance to uppgrade the defense corps. We have no other option but trade Schultz for whatever we can get

I'm guessing he gets moved at the trade deadline. By then, his salary cap hit is workable and playoff teams are always looking for depth on D.

 

[Hemsky4PM]

Schultz for anything at the deadline is likely to happen. I think the Oilers should do it regardless of where they are in the standings. Call up Reinhart.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Schultz for anything at the deadline is likely to happen. I think the Oilers should do it regardless of where they are in the standings. Call up Reinhart.

Idk, someone actually has to want Schultz in order to trade for him. He could go easily go through waviers right now, and hell, if they still existed, I think re-entry waviers would be a safe bet too...

Your best bet is moving him for another overpaid, minamal value defenceman.


So, Boyle, Zidlicky, or the like

 

[McHaNugYakEbNurDra]

We have already commited to 63,5M in salaries for the next season. We have 8-9M to sign top pairing right shot defenseman. By qualfying Schultz and Kassian it is no chance to uppgrade the defense corps. We have no other option but trade Schultz for whatever we can get

Where does the 63.5M figure come from? (By my math on General Fanager, we have 55M commited for 2016-2017 leaving us ~16M to work with if the cap doesn't rise.

 

[Weitz]

For the love of god I will stop watching the Oilers if they qualify Schultz at they ridiculous cost it has to be.

 

[Louis Cypher]

There should be no discussion of trading Schultz or not signing him unless we get a RHD back. Need to improve the defense not make it worse by losing Schultz. Need to pair him with a good defensemen not an average defensemen and he will start to shine. Schultz isn't the problem. It's where he is being played is the problem. Should be lower in the order.

 

[McTrashBoat]

There should be no discussion of trading Schultz or not signing him unless we get a RHD back. Need to improve the defense not make it worse by losing Schultz. Need to pair him with a good defensemen not an average defensemen and he will start to shine. Schultz isn't the problem. It's where he is being played is the problem. Should be lower in the order.

I still don't trust him on the 3rd pairing, not to mention his salary.

 

[I am the Liquor]

We have already commited to 63,5M in salaries for the next season. We have 8-9M to sign top pairing right shot defenseman. By qualfying Schultz and Kassian it is no chance to uppgrade the defense corps. We have no other option but trade Schultz for whatever we can get

Nice to see you havent lost your touch Thread Necromancer!

 

[NewBoysClub97*]

I will lose any hope and confidence in Chia if he qualifies Schultz and doesn't let him walk.

 

[TheRebuild]

Schultz should really consider playing over seas next year, maybe in Sweden or something, maybe Russia. He'd fit right in over there, plus travel helps build character, and he could really REALLY use some of that.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

If the alternative is Hunt....

 

[JarvisFunk]

I woudn't touch that with a ten foot pole, absolutely agreed.

Schenn is no better than Gryba.

Jeez people are rough on Gryba, he is WAY better then Schenn at this point.

 

[Draiskull]

Schultz with some retention for Lovejoy seems like a good lateral move that fans of both sides wouldnt mind. Lovejoy was good in West when was with ANA.

Also, I hope McLellan tries JS as a winger before we get rid him as a negative value player. There is certainly skill in him.

 

[Aerchon]

Oilers are a better team without him than with him IMO

While a truer statement seems hard to imagine, this really doesn't do the situation justice.

We bring Ethan Bear in to replace him? Or Hunt?

Play XXX on their offside where they have proven to struggle?

We are destitute on the right side and honestly have no other options.

I think there still could be a very good player in Shultz long term but I think its a stupid bet to make. Let another team make that bet is the much safer way to go.

But we still need a right shooting guy that can at least survive in both an offensive and defensive role. Davidson if he was a righty would probably already be penciled in.

Plus remember they need to be significantly better than a Fayne or Gyrba. Not hard you would think but apparently so.

This is all on Chiarelli and obviously the biggest hole that needs to fixed/filled. There are so few righties available that fill the need of this team that I honestly don't know how the heck he is going to fix it.

 

[Alawishis]

okay, so you acknowledge that Petry was a trash defenseman for most of his time here, which is true, but wouldn't you use the lesson of Petry to judge Schultz? Petry did steadily improve as he played more, and he actually is proof of that 300 game rule for Dmen. It takes about 300 NHL games for a Dman to hit their stride. Schultz is around 200 games played. At that point, Petry was still all over the place. That was even before that strong shutdown season he had playing next to Marincin.

Schultz has been playing a lot of minutes and he could be on the verge of putting his game together. The tragedy of Petry is that we suffered through all the hard times early on and then ditched him just when he put his game together. We should remember that Petry was not always good. Many games were lost on his stick.

I also strongly believe that all our players deserve a fresh start with McLellan and Chiarelli at the helm. So far, Schultz hasn't been good but it's been only 13 games separated by a nagging injury. At the very least, we should hold off on handing out harsh judgments until we get a decent chunk of games out of him. Since he's approaching that 300 game mark, this could be the best stretch to judge him.

Excellent post.
I'm not against trading him if we get a good return, at this point I doubt we would. It's too early to write off Schultz. I know he' disappointed a lot of people who has high expectations and somehow thought he was going to step in and be a star. D-men take time to develop there are some top talent ones that develop quick but most take a long time. Back in the day fans were all ready to get rid of Charlie Huddy because he looked like a mess. It took him a long time to develop and figure it out.

 

[Mr Positive]

Got to see him with Klefbom first. All signs point to him not staying at this point but you never know

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

If they can somehow work out a side agreement that 2 million dollars of his contract goes directly into McDavid's bank account than they might be able to keep him.

 

[joestevens29]

Got to see him with Klefbom first. All signs point to him not staying at this point but you never know

I don't know. I have a hard time keeping a guy that's going to cost us roughly 4mil, but he can only play with Klefbom.

I'd be all for playing him after the deadline with Klef, but I'd move him if he did well anyway. Just no room for a guy that would be the perfect example of a passenger on a line/pairing

 

[Shizuka]

The question is not if the Oilers should consider trading him... the salient point is whether any other GM with any sense for the game would trade for the guy and give up *anything* of marginal value.

This is a D man who was lauded for his offensive game, but clearly in the tightened defensive rigour of the NHL (as opposed to the looser game found in the minors/junior/college) gets rattled and does not have the fortitude to adjust accordingly. He is not worth much at all -- but seeing as we received him for nothing, it's basically a wash. If you get a bag of pucks for the guy, you are on the positive side of the ledger. Get rid of him, give the developmental time and investment to other guys who have the ability to play at an NHL level.

 

[joestevens29]

The question is not if the Oilers should consider trading him... the salient point is whether any other GM with any sense for the game would trade for the guy and give up *anything* of marginal value.

This is a D man who was lauded for his offensive game, but clearly in the tightened defensive rigour of the NHL (as opposed to the looser game found in the minors/junior/college) gets rattled and does not have the fortitude to adjust accordingly. He is not worth much at all -- but seeing as we received him for nothing, it's basically a wash. If you get a bag of pucks for the guy, you are on the positive side of the ledger. Get rid of him, give the developmental time and investment to other guys who have the ability to play at an NHL level.

The question then would become do you want anything of marginal value or do you want to save your owner close to 2mil?

 

[Oilfan2]

The question is not if the Oilers should consider trading him... the salient point is whether any other GM with any sense for the game would trade for the guy and give up *anything* of marginal value.

This is a D man who was lauded for his offensive game, but clearly in the tightened defensive rigour of the NHL (as opposed to the looser game found in the minors/junior/college) gets rattled and does not have the fortitude to adjust accordingly. He is not worth much at all -- but seeing as we received him for nothing, it's basically a wash. If you get a bag of pucks for the guy, you are on the positive side of the ledger. Get rid of him, give the developmental time and investment to other guys who have the ability to play at an NHL level.

I'm not sure why people are so quick to forget or just want to push their 'agenda'.

Schultz was, and is, an offensive defenseman. Just going back the last two years he led the Oil in points for a D and was 40th overall in 2013 and 49th last year for defensemen.

That's on a lousy, close to last place in the NHL, Oiler team.

He is what he is..a fairly soft, offensive defenseman.

The problem some people seem to have is expecting him, or players like Eberle, to be more than what made them successful in the past. That rarely happens. With Schultz, it's clear that this season, at least before he got hurt, tried to do more of what people wanted on the defensive end of the puck. His back caused him problems and I suspect his frame just isn't conducive to that type of play. He's still trying (he's now caught between the styles)but the offence is now suffering because he isn't that all-around D and he's 'too soft' for some people.

If the Oilers had a properly made team, both these players would be great assets but the issue is, it isn't. The team is the wrong mixture of players and guys like Schultz and Eberle, especially, stand out if they're not producing every day.

I have no issue with trading either of these players ( I think people are wrong if they believe they hold little to no value around the league) but trade them for good assets that will fit the team...not just for little or nothing.

The problem is the makeup of the Oilers...not the makeup of these two players.

 

[joestevens29]

I'm not sure why people are so quick to forget or just want to push their 'agenda'.

Schultz was, and is, an offensive defenseman. Just going back the last two years he led the Oil in points for a D and was 40th overall in 2013 and 49th last year for defensemen.

That's on a lousy, close to last place in the NHL, Oiler team.

He is what he is..a fairly soft, offensive defenseman.

The problem some people seem to have is expecting him, or players like Eberle, to be more than what made them successful in the past. That rarely happens. With Schultz, it's clear that this season, at least before he got hurt, tried to do more of what people wanted on the defensive end of the puck. His back caused him problems and I suspect his frame just isn't conducive to that type of play. He's still trying (he's now caught between the styles)but the offence is now suffering because he isn't that all-around D and he's 'too soft' for some people.

If the Oilers had a properly made team, both these players would be great assets but the issue is, it isn't. The team is the wrong mixture of players and guys like Schultz and Eberle, especially, stand out if they're not producing every day.

I have no issue with trading either of these players ( I think people are wrong if they believe they hold little to no value around the league) but trade them for good assets that will fit the team...not just for little or nothing.

The problem is the makeup of the Oilers...not the makeup of these two players.

No the real problem is Schultz struggling to put up a 20 point pace. He's one of the few guys that is suppose to help offensively. If he was 30-35 point it wouldn't be great, but would be manageable. If he was 35-45 points then he'd be re-signed no problem.

The fact is he is an offensive d-man getting all sorts of PP time and he's putting up the same points as our defensive rookie Nurse.