NHL Veteran with 700 Games Leaves Seattle Kraken to Continue Career in Europe

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Daniel Lucente
October 23, 2024 (3:04 PM)

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Long-time NHL veteran Justin Schultz has decided to leave the Seattle Kraken and the NHL altogether to play in Europe, signing with HC Lugano.

Veteran defenceman Justin Schultz has signed a one-year deal with HC Lugano of the Swiss National League, a major pivot in his hockey career. Coming off of an offseason in which he did not land a one-way, two-way, or even professional tryout contract with an NHL team, the 34-year-old will be continuing his professional journey across the water. This move comes at the end of a long NHL career that has featured both individual success and limitations, particularly in the later stages of his time in North America.

Schultz spent the last two seasons with the Seattle Kraken after inking a two-year, $6 million contract in free agency. His offense was still there, and he was greatly effective as a puck-moving defenseman, but those defensive inconsistencies kept him from truly staking a claim to a top-four spot. With the Seattle club, he has played 143 games and scored 60 points, through 14 goals, and 46 assists, while struggling with a rating of -19 and 62 penalty minutes. However, Schultz's game was always more geared toward offense rather than dependable defense. He was exposed to critical situations many times as well.

Schultz's NHL career took off following a somewhat non-traditional route to begin with. He was a second-round draft choice of the Anaheim Ducks in 2008, but never signed after playing college hockey at the University of Wisconsin. Instead, he signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Edmonton Oilers in 2012 and quickly proved to be a force. Schultz played all 48 games during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, finishing seventh in Calder Trophy voting for rookie of the year. While he had been a consistent contributor on the Oilers' backend offensively, a combined -78 over 248 games indicated a one-dimensional player who could not find a balance between offense and defense.

Arguably the biggest turning point in his career came when he was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016. With the team losing its top defenceman Kris Letang to injury, Schultz stepped up and played the best hockey of his career. In the 2016-17 season, he set career highs of 51 points (12 goals, 39 assists), and a +27 rating, while placing 10th in Norris Trophy voting as the league's best defenseman. He played an integral role in consecutive Stanley Cup championships for the Penguins, posting 13 points in 21 playoff games during their title run in 2017. But he was never better than that year; from the peak, his overall performance started to slide, and subsequent stints with the Washington Capitals and Seattle showed diminishing returns.

Justin Schultz's decision to move to Europe signifies that his time in the NHL has likely come to a close. If this is indeed his swan song in the NHL, he departs with 745 games played, 324 points, through 71 goals, 253 assists, and a -57 rating. He will be joining HC Lugano, where he will join the ranks of former NHLers Carl Dahlstrom and Mirco Muller in bringing experience into a new environment that may mark the last chapter of his professional hockey career.