Veteran Defender Signed to a Contract But Destination Maybe a Surprise

He was one of the top remaining free agents from the summer of 2024, especially so among defencemen.

The right-shot D-man Justin Schultz has signed a contract today .

This is a great pickup for the club as Schultz is a reliable, veteran defender who can provide offensive spark.

However, given Schultzs willingness to look for a unique opportunity, the team may come as a surprise within NHL circles.

He has signed a one-year deal in Switzerland with HC Lugano.

As reported recently, Justin Schultz was searching for a unique opportunity in the later stages of his career.

He's found that with HC Lugano in Switzerland and signed a contract for the remainder of the year.

Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) October 23, 2024 Justin Schultz Signs a Contract The 34-year-old Schultz is a 12-year veteran of the NHL.

Throughout his career, he has had stretches of great success.

His most significant contributions came with the Pittsburgh Penguins during their back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships in 2016 and 2017.

Furthermore, this included his best career season personally in 2016-17.

That year he scored 12 goals, had 39 assists for 51 points, all three of which were career-highs.

Nowadays, his ice time isnt quite at that level, but he is still very efficient when he is on the ice.

At the NHL level, as a depth, third-pairing guy, he provides a lot of the desirable intangibles teams fighting for the playoffs seek.

He will do likewise for his new Lugano club.

What Can He Bring to Lugano in 2024-25 His best baseline for his expected performance in 2024-25, comes from his previous two season with the Seattle Kraken .

At one point in his career, he was up over 23 minutes a game.

However, the past two seasons seen him at 17:47 and 16:28, in 2022-23 and 2023-24, respectively.

Despite less ice, getting out against teams secondary wave of players has proved successful for his continued productivity.

His Corsi rating is still very elevated at 9.0 CF% Relative in 2023-24.

His points per 60 minutes in the past two years was 1.6 and 1.4.

For a defenceman, theres nothing wrong with that amount.

How this translates to the Swiss league exactly is an unknown.

However, expect him to be a main contributor to their backend.

Signing Justin Schultz to a contract is a great all-around move.

This is the type of signing that competitive teams make.

Adding a depth, veteran blueliner with Stanley Cup pedigree, what more could you ask for, especially for a Swiss-league club.

He will slot in on the clubs defence and be able to fill most any role.

This will be a great pickup for Lugano when it comes to big competitions featuring the top teams.

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