I dunno why so many people are using Johnson as an excuse for Schultz being awful this year. He was mostly with Pettersson, and spent less than a quarter of the year with Johnson. Counting on a guy to return to bounce back after a poor season due to a terrible leg injury didn't work with Kempny, so choosing to make that gamble again with Schultz, and paying such a high price to do so, makes no sense to me at all.



If he crashes and burns they have to either buy him out or pay someone to take his contract, cause the Caps have a huge impending cap crunch next offseason when they'll have 16M to re-sign Ovie, Vrana, and Samsonov.



God, I really hope they don't dump Jensen. There's a major chance the Orlov-Schultz pairing is a sieve, and I want them to have the alternative of swapping Jensen with Schultz so they don't just keep beating their heads against a wall hoping Schultz's ankle magically returns to its pre-shattered state. If they move Jensen they'll also only have one RHD left who can PK (cause Schultz sure as hell won't see any PK time), and dumping a whole lot of PK time on Carlson's plate when he's already playing nearly 25 minutes a night and now on the wrong side of 30 is not a great idea.



Gudbranson turned things around in Anaheim and rehabilitated his value. If the Caps are moving Schultz because he didn't work out, it'll mean he's now had three straight bad seasons and there won't be anyone left who's in denial about the shattered ankle permanently gimping him. They'll have to buy him out or pay a team to take his contract at that point.

If they push Oshie to the third line, he'll stop scoring 25 goals a year, and Seattle won't claim him. This would trigger a rebuild.

Underreaction to the Schultz signing: this is a former 50 point defenseman, bit of a power play specialist, a lot like getting a Tony Deangelo without having to trade anybody to get him, and at a lower cap hit. If the team is all in for a few years and then seeing what they've got in some prospects, this makes a lot more sense than whatever nonsense trade prices are being offered on young guys with a similar skill set. When Carlson got injured the Caps' power play needed a power play specialist on the point, and Schultz is a cheap option to fill that need.

Overreaction: two year term on a power play point guy? Oh no. Are they trading Carlson, or Ovechkin? AAaaaaAAAAaAaaAAAAAAAaighthhfhhhthahfoidasfd!... Yeah. Probably just the power play specialist thing, but I think Shattenkirk, while still getting buyout money, might have signed cheaper, and looked better defensively last year. Some of that might be partners he had on Tampa, but I didn't even think his defense was that bad in New York. Maybe Shattenkirk doesn't really feel like moving out of the tri-state area? That would explain this signing. Still hope they can pick up Ceci and Bowey for depth, because this team now has three RHD under contract at all levels, and that does not seem like the ideal number.