Justin Schultz

[guymez]

Reminds me of the radio this morning. Hartley said Johnny Gretzky and Monohan are like Hudlers kids on the ice and on the bench. Talks to them and teaches them non stop.

Kind of like Horcoff tried to do here with Hall, except Horc didn't produce.

Horc needed help. He was massivaly overused during his last few years here. That led to injuries and and diminishing results.
The team traded away Smyth when he was still a useful player only to bring him back when he wasn't useful anymore.
This understanding of the value veteran leadership was inexplicably missing.

The meme on this board 5 years ago was that the team needed to purge the veterans and play the kids.
That actual scenario played out and it has been a massive failure.

Veteran leadership matters...impossible to build a competitive team without it. I have been pounding that drum for years now.
The Flames management was smart enough to recognize that and its one of the reasons they are in the playoffs and the Oilers are still in the draft lottery.

Will that change for the Oilers moving forward with the same people steering the bus?
If history is any indication then the next few years will be a continuation of the last few.

The ongoing financial support is nothing more than a tacit endorsement of the job that Management is doing.
I take solace in the fact that this team doesn't get a dime of my money anymore. More people should take that stand IMO.


As for Schultz...I said it before but he doesn't seem to have a sense of what it takes to play with a consistent level of intensity. A solid veteran might just help that liability. I doubt very much if we will find out for sure.

 

[Soundwave]

Hall and Eberle are going into their *sixth* seasons next year ... yes the coddling/veteran leadership would've been nice 3-4 years ago. They should have signed Jagr back then.

But these kids ... aren't really kids anymore.

They need a competent D otherwise they're going nowhere.

 

[guymez]

Hall and Eberle are going into their *sixth* seasons next year ... yes the coddling/veteran leadership would've been nice 3-4 years ago. They should have signed Jagr back then.

But these kids ... aren't really kids anymore.

They need a competent D otherwise they're going nowhere.

Veteran leadership isnt a luxury that would have been 'nice'.

It was a necessity that wasnt fulfilled in any meaningful way. Now the reality is that these kids (without the benefit of veteran leadership) are now expected to help this team win when they have no idea how to do that.

This is a mess because these kids are now the identity of the team.
At this late stage of the game its going to take some extremely strong veteran players with a winning pedigree to come in here and turn this wayward ship around.

That is a monumental task with a very slim likelihood of happening.

The team now has to be changed in a radical way...one of these kids has to be traded. Not only to shake up the team culture but to help fill the many holes poor management has neglected to fill over the last 5 years.

 

[Soundwave]

Veteran leadership isnt a luxury that would have been 'nice'.

It was a necessity that wasnt fulfilled in any meaningful way. Now the reality is that these kids (without the benefit of veteran leadership) are now expected to help this team win when they have no idea how to do that.

This is a mess because these kids are now the identity of the team.
At this late stage of the game its going to take some extremely strong veteran players with a winning pedigree to come in here and turn this wayward ship around.

That is a monumental task with a very slim likelihood of happening.

The team now has to be changed in a radical way...one of these kids has to be traded. Not only to shake up the team culture but to help fill the many holes poor management has neglected to fill over the last 5 years.

Veterans aren't going to turn this around. They need players who can actually play.

Not sit on the bench with a thumb up their ass like Horcoff, Ference, Khabibulin, Nikitin, etc.

I'm sure Ference can blow hard all day with stories of the Cup winning Bruins ... it doesn't mean much when he's getting worked on his shift.

 

[Dorian2]

Hall and Eberle are going into their *sixth* seasons next year ... yes the coddling/veteran leadership would've been nice 3-4 years ago. They should have signed Jagr back then.

But these kids ... aren't really kids anymore.

They need a competent D otherwise they're going nowhere.

Question is are they going to learn from their mistakes or not.

Hall, Ebs, Nuge: no experienced forwards to play with.

DD, Deslaurier: No experienced goalies to back up over time. (Khaby had his moments, but for the most part **** the bed.)

Schultz, Klefbom, Marincin: No experienced D men to work off of in a lesser role than they have been shoved into.

I guess I answered my own damned question.....didn't I. And I won't bring up Gagner. Same deal.

 

[missinthejets]

Veteran presence at this point is not what the team needs. They need talented presence. Someone who can play a lot of reliable minutes on defense so that young defencemen don't have to. Someone who can reliably make saves in net and not be as up and down as the goaltenders have been this year. Forwards who can put the puck in the net and not be a liability on the ice. I think the forward group is good enough to be honest, just really need a guy or two on D who can take some of the burden off the developing defensemen.

 

[guymez]

Veterans aren't going to turn this around. They need players who can actually play.

Not sit on the bench with a thumb up their ass like Horcoff, Ference, Khabibulin, Nikitin, etc.

I'm sure Ference can blow hard all day with stories of the Cup winning Bruins ... it doesn't mean much when he's getting worked on his shift.

Interesting how you have convinced yourself that veteran players are all of the caliber of Nikitin and Ference or a broken down Horcoff.

Thats like saying that all potential veteran goalies they get to replace Scrivens will be of the same caliber as Khabbibulin.

Doesnt make a lot of sense.

 

[Soundwave]

Veteran presence at this point is not what the team needs. They need talented presence. Someone who can play a lot of reliable minutes on defense so that young defencemen don't have to. Someone who can reliably make saves in net and not be as up and down as the goaltenders have been this year. Forwards who can put the puck in the net and not be a liability on the ice. I think the forward group is good enough to be honest, just really need a guy or two on D who can take some of the burden off the developing defensemen.

Exactly they need two d-men who can actually play at an NHL level on top of what they have and they need a goalie who can keep the team in games.

Saying they need veteran leadership now is like saying a 24-year-old who grew up without his parents now needs a parental figure ... would've been good to have when they were 8/9 years old, but by this stage it's too little, too late for that.

Besides realistically you want to do that ... great. Who's available? Go get Mike Richards from LA. And I'm sure Philly will give up Vincent Lecavalier for nothing. But you'll then basically have no cap room for the next 3-4 years.

 

[Da McBomb]

Jim Matheson ‏@NHLbyMatty · 27m27 minutes ago
The Oilers will offer Justin Schultz a 1 year contract and hope he starts looking like a keeper.#oilers

 

[AlowlyMcOilersfan]

Jim Matheson ‏@NHLbyMatty · 27m27 minutes ago
The Oilers will offer Justin Schultz a 1 year contract and hope he starts looking like a keeper.#oilers

so, he's going to be traded?

 

[guymez]

Jim Matheson ‏@NHLbyMatty · 27m27 minutes ago
The Oilers will offer Justin Schultz a 1 year contract and hope he starts looking like a keeper.#oilers

If true this is good news because it may force them to actually upgrade the defence.

 

[Burnt Biscuits]

Jim Matheson ‏@NHLbyMatty · 27m27 minutes ago
The Oilers will offer Justin Schultz a 1 year contract and hope he starts looking like a keeper.#oilers

That's great news, I was worried I'd have to listen to more drivel about him just being on the fringe of becoming that Norris defenseman or how he and Klefbom will make a solid 1st pairing next season.

 

[Suxnet]

so, he's going to be traded?

...for nothing and he's going to light it up elsewhere.

 

[T-Funk]

so, he's going to be traded?

Hopefully. He has no drive.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Jim Matheson ‏@NHLbyMatty · 27m27 minutes ago
The Oilers will offer Justin Schultz a 1 year contract and hope he starts looking like a keeper.#oilers

He needs to hit the weight room hard this offseason and he needs to ask himself if he wants to stay at this salary level or if he wants to be a $2 million/year journeyman.

 

[rboomercat90]

Jim Matheson ‏@NHLbyMatty · 27m27 minutes ago
The Oilers will offer Justin Schultz a 1 year contract and hope he starts looking like a keeper.#oilers

I wonder if Mactavish feels like an ass now for the comments he made about him last summer. To go from calling the guy a core player with Norris potential to only being interested in giving him a one year deal and "hoping he starts looking like a keeper" is quite the reversal of opinion in such a short time. Maybe he's starting to lose the blinders for the players he had a hand in bringing in here. One can hope I guess.

 

[Bangers]

I wonder if Mactavish feels like an ass now for the comments he made about him last summer. To go from calling the guy a core player with Norris potential to only being interested in giving him a one year deal and "hoping he starts looking like a keeper" is quite the reversal of opinion in such a short time. Maybe he's starting to lose the blinders for the players he had a hand in bringing in here. One can hope I guess.

I'm guessing the crown prince of delusion-land thinks that the job he's doing is all rainbows and unicorns.

 

[PKSpecialist]

I'm not sure if it has been discussed in here or not, but it is often discussed that NHL defenseman take 200 games to really find their game in the NHL.

Schultz just passed that milestone, so if true, we may see a different Schultz to start next season.

Here's to hoping!

 

[Hemsky4PM]

Sign Mike Green and look for a landing spot for Schultz. Try Schultz + for Adam Larsson.

 

[ponokanocker]

Jim Matheson ‏@NHLbyMatty · 27m27 minutes ago
The Oilers will offer Justin Schultz a 1 year contract and hope he starts looking like a keeper.#oilers

Awesome news!

 

[McShogun99]

Schultz makes me miss the solid defensive play of MAB.

 

[Summary]

Jim Matheson ‏@NHLbyMatty · 27m27 minutes ago
The Oilers will offer Justin Schultz a 1 year contract and hope he starts looking like a keeper.#oilers

I'm not impressed, that likely means a simple qualifying offer which makes him still vastly overpaid. To even look like a keeper at that price point would be a significant step from his current level.

As for MacT learning from his mistakes, not long ago I mentioned his interview post trade deadline which still inexplicably and unnecessarily lumped Schultz in with his pals as our core players. This was at a time he was still playing very poorly and had been for a long time. Reality doesn't seem to matter, they can convince themselves of anything.

 

[Soundwave]

If that's the route they're going though I'd strongly consider moving him now if its possible to get a d-man in return.

Dylan Strome (3OA) + Justin Schultz should be able to net you a very significant return.

Does Schultz become a UFA after next season if they offer him a 1 year deal?

 

[rasarhdasd]

I thought it was interesting that he wasn't included in the "core" that Friedman talked about last night, and then Cassie Campbell confirmed that group with MacT during the first intermission.

Maybe they are finally realizing that he is never going to be a top-pairing guy and the results he produces after being significantly sheltered and given prime minutes is really nothing special. Honestly, I would either trade him or wouldn't even qualify him. ~3.1 is a ridiculous amount for a bottom-pairing guy who is not really a power-play specialist on a RFA contract.

 

[Soundwave]

I thought it was interesting that he wasn't included in the "core" that Friedman talked about last night, and then Cassie Campbell confirmed that group with MacT during the first intermission.

Maybe they are finally realizing that he is never going to be a top-pairing guy and the results he produces after being significantly sheltered and given prime minutes is really nothing special. Honestly, I would either trade him or wouldn't even qualify him. ~3.1 is a ridiculous amount for a bottom-pairing guy who is not really a power-play specialist on a RFA contract.

Say hello to a Nurse-Hanifin pairing on opening night if you just let him walk for nothing.

If he's being traded fine, but they *must* be getting a d-man who can play now in return for him.

Otherwise we'll have given up Petry and Schultz on the right side of our D for basically nothing in the near future.