Late today the Capitals announced the signing of five players: Shaone Morrisonn, Eric Fehr, Chris Bourque, Kyle Wilson, and Steve Pinizzotto. All were one-year deals, except for Pinner’s (two years). But the buzz in the Kettler press room at happy hour tonight was the absence of Jeff Schultz’s name from the list of the signed.
In fact, the chatter I was hearing out at Kettler bordered on the bizarre. Schultz . . . playing next season . . . in Russia??? I understand the creative alternatives commonly concocted by player-agent teams in contract season, but this struck me as an all-timer.
As I blog tonight Tarik has Schultz signed on the dotted line while Corey says he turned down his QO.
If it was a summer potboiler you were looking for, we may have found it this Wednesday evening.
Long before John Carlson arrived on the scene like Steve McQueen in skates I wasn’t convinced that Schultz was a part of the Capitals’ contending plans. Partly for this reason:
Let’s see how this plays out.
Update: The Caps late Thursday morning announced the signing of Schultz. One-year deal.
10 Comments
Oh, come on! Schultz’s ribs were broken! He could barely move, let alone change direction. Your ignorance and lack of sympathy is appalling.
Scott,
You’re too easily appalled.
I’m not sure full-on paralysis justifies the Dubinsky humiliation.
Relative to what Greener and Fehr were playing with this past spring — to make no mention of Morrisonn’s playing with an exposed fractured jaw (and a torn groin) against the Flyers the postseason before (ok, that’s kinda a mention) — Sarge was competing this past postseason with a minor bruise. A couple of broken ribs isn’t a debilitating, devastating malady compared say with needing surgery on both shoulders.
“Sarge was competing this past postseason with a minor bruise. A couple of broken ribs isn’t a debilitating, devastating malady compared say with needing surgery on both shoulders.”
“Needing surgery” isn’t a medical problem, it’s a treatment. Just because something requires a more aggressive treatment doesn’t mean it’s more serious. When I was a kid I got really bad poison ivy and was given some pretty strong steroids; when I had mono as a teenager the only prescription was rest. By the same token a fractured finger can require surgery while a half dozen broken ribs require only rest.
Beyond that, the impact of different injuries varies depending on what you’re trying to do. Changing direction like Schultz had to do/failed to do on that play wouldn’t have been impacted by a bum shoulder, but was affected by his broken ribs.
I’ve had broken ribs before and I have to say I would think they’d be a brutal injury to play hockey with. You cant catch your breath and it hurts to even brush past someone in a crowded street, let alone get push around by 210 pound NHLers. It’s doesn’t have the drama of a gruesome injury or even something that requires surgery, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t limit a player’s effective at the NHL level any less.
“Long before John Carlson arrived on the scene like Steve McQueen in skates I wasn’t convinced that Schultz was a part of the Capitals’ contending plans. Partly for this reason: [video”
That video’s from this past spring. Carlson was drafted last summer.
DMG,
The Purple Heart you’d bestow on Sarge is duly noted. Although one wonders what admiration you’d have for say a golfer who competes on a broken leg and a blown out knee and wins the Open.
I’m of the (informed) opinion that game 1 last spring was Sarge’s last of the postseason for reasons other than two bum ribs. I’m also of the opinion that he isn’t Top 4 material on a contending club. Hopefully we’ll see soon if I’m right.
The issue of the moment, however, is if he plays in D.C. again.
Don’t want to sign your QO? we’ll deal your big behind be fore tha rest of the league figures out that you won’t amount to anything.
Meh. At least he tried to commit to a forward that time, instead of backing up till he screens and/or trips over the goalie like he usually does.
I wouldn’t be sorry to see him gone at this point. He’s always come off as indecisive and afraid to make a mistake, which has rather ironically led to a multitude of mistakes. I think he plays like a rookie who’s just taking his first tentative steps into the NHL. 174 games into his career, he should be way beyond that.
I would be semi-interested to see if a new D-coach helps him out any.
I’ve always hated Schultz. And we should get rid of him. Give Carlson or Alzner a chance this year, they are the future
“Although one wonders what admiration you’d have for say a golfer who competes on a broken leg and a blown out knee and wins the Open.”
Why?
“I’m of the (informed) opinion that game 1 last spring was Sarge’s last of the postseason for reasons other than two bum ribs.”
If the issue is performance, is it not the same issue? As in the team thought he would still be effective while playing through his injury and it turned out that was not the case and he ergo not shut down because of the broken ribs but because of his performance which was being adversely affected by the broken ribs.
Gotta say that broken ribs are no walk in the park. When I was 8 and a half months’ pregnant, I caught a cold, and ended up with a bruised or broken rib(s) – can’t have x-rays when pregnant, so I never had a definitive diagnosis. With ailing ribs, one can’t change direction muchless sit and turn at the waist without searing pain. Feet, arms, etc. can benefit from cortisone shots and painkillers – ribs, not so much. Even wrapping ribs doesn’t make much of a difference. So, I gave Shultz a big pass on the Dubinsky episode once I knew what was bothering him. That said, I hope he is back, because I think he has a lot of promise.
Washington fans have historically been tough on defensemen, and I think a lot of it has to do with what they focus on when they watch the game. Schultz has very decent positional instincts, he reads the play well, and for that reason he’s often responsible for plays the offense doesn’t make. It’s tough to appreciate that skill because the player’s mere presence is preventing a scoring chance. Sure, he has some mobility issues. But the bottom line is that there were a lot of Cap wins this year where you don’t remember seeing Schultz much, but then you looked at the score sheet and find out he had more minutes than you thought and he was a plus leader. Invisible can be a good thing, but it won’t get Schultz a lot of credit, unfortunately. Let’s not run another good D-man out of town. Before you judge him, watch him a few shifts for what doesn’t happen.
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