Isn't Schultz doing really well in Pittsburgh, at least offensively?
Man, how structured is Tampa? because Montreal plays a pretty structured game.
I'm not sure Montreal's expecting anything more than a 6-8 D that can move the puck, produce and can occasionally play forward. They don't really need more than that.
Schultz always had the skill, when he broke in during the lock out season, he absolutely destroyed in the AHL, it was unreal how good he was. He came up to the NHL and had a solid rookie season that would of worked out to 45-50 points over a whole season. His D was never great, neither was his shot, but he's great skater and can really move the puck.
The problem in Edmonton was he was playing with a young team, and way too far up in their D line up. He lost his mojo, his confidence, and the fans turned on him. His contract was already at 4 million, so there was no chance anyone in the whole league was going to qualify him at that, so he had to be moved because he was basically a pending UFA.
In Pitt, he's playing with a championship calibre team, with some of the best players in the world. He's got his offensive game going again. The structure does help, no doubt about it, but if the skill isn't there, it won't matter. Schultz has elite skating and puck moving abilities, simple as that. You add talent, confidence, and structure and that equals success.