Justin Schultz retires

1specter

Registered User
Sep 27, 2016
12,517
18,921
Why did he leave the NHL? At a high level he looked to still be a serviceable d-man with the Kraken just last season.

Regardless, hats off to a solid career. Took some odd turns along the way given how hyped he was in college and the 'sweepstakes' to sign him, he was unfairly scapegoated in Edmonton and expected to be a saviour, but then proceeded to be a big part of two back-to-back Cups immediately upon being traded to Pittsburgh. Injuries slowed him down a bit but he still performed as a solid top 4 D for a number of years after.
 

ManofSteel55

Registered User
Aug 15, 2013
33,650
14,177
Sylvan Lake, Alberta
Why did he leave the NHL? At a high level he looked to still be a serviceable d-man with the Kraken just last season.

Regardless, hats off to a solid career. Took some odd turns along the way given how hyped he was in college and the 'sweepstakes' to sign him, he was unfairly scapegoated in Edmonton and expected to be a saviour, but then proceeded to be a big part of two back-to-back Cups immediately upon being traded to Pittsburgh. Injuries slowed him down a bit but he still performed as a solid top 4 D for a number of years after.
He never got a contract. I don't think he "left", so much as he was no longer wanted as an NHL defenseman.

He had a nice, long career, and did well for himself considering how his progress was bungled by the Oilers "decade of darkness" management group of fools.
 

Luigi Lemieux

Registered User
Sep 26, 2003
22,363
11,154
Good luck in retirement. Etched in history forever with the back to back cups in Pittsburgh, and he played a prominent role as well.
 
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Rodgerwilco

Entertainment boards w/ some Hockey mixed in.
Feb 6, 2014
8,062
7,582
Good luck to him in retirement. I remember my Oiler fan friends telling me how terrible this guy was and how he'll never work out in Pittsburgh and they fleeced the Pens in the trade. They weren't too thrilled when Schultz went on to become a major part of back to back cups.

Did he retire from hockey or just from that European league
"The Hockey Club Lugano announces that the player Justin Schultz informed the club yesterday of his decision to end his career with immediate effect for strictly personal reasons and to immediately return to Canada."

This is the Italian to English translation via google.
 

Ignatius

Utah Direwolf
Apr 28, 2010
2,619
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Sin Bin
I remember so many people dumping on this guy throughout his tenure in Edmonton but I'm not sure if the Penguins end up winning a cup or two without him, he and Trevor Daley were both given bad raps before they showed up but they both ended up contributing heavily to the back-to-back Cup wins. I think he definitely lived up to the hype for at least two years in Pittsburgh.
 

VeteranPresence

Registered User
Aug 13, 2024
610
1,002
Why did he leave the NHL? At a high level he looked to still be a serviceable d-man with the Kraken just last season.

I believe both he and Shattenkirk refused to do PTOs, then when no one offered them guaranteed money that was it. Schultz obviously tried playing overseas first but I think he was still holding out hope that once injuries hit an NHL club would come calling ahead of the deadline for teams to sign players without them needing to hit waivers. With two weeks to go before the end of the year though that didn't look to be in the cards.

I do think if he'd swallowed his pride in pre-season he would be somewhere on an NHL roster right now, but hard to feel sorry for him between the money, decent career, and of course two Cups.
 

cheechoo

Lilje 4-ever
Dec 13, 2018
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suspended in gaffa
He was almost like the OG Adam Fox as a prospect, but instead of his career blowing after deciding to sign with the Oilers, he got caved in for years on brutal teams and it got to the point where it was questioned if he were NHL caliber.

Escapes Edmonton and goes on to win two cups in Pittsburgh and settles in as a reliable top four defenseman.

Pretty inspiring story.
 

VeteranPresence

Registered User
Aug 13, 2024
610
1,002
He was almost like the OG Adam Fox as a prospect, but instead of his career blowing after deciding to sign with the Oilers, he got caved in for years on brutal teams and it got to the point where it was questioned if he were NHL caliber.

Escapes Edmonton and goes on to win two cups in Pittsburgh and settles in as a reliable top four defenseman.

Pretty inspiring story.

If only other orgs were as well-run and successful at winning Cups as San J... never mind.
 

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