The Flyers have added defenseman Nick Schultz to their roster, the team announced in Wednesday afternoon. He’s your NHL-level depth defenseman for the 2014-15 season. It’s reportedly a deal worth $1.25 million.
Just yesterday, Ron Hextall mentioned the need for an extra veteran defenseman at the NHL level, and this is that guy. It makes sense from that perspective and also means that unlike last year, where young defenseman Erik Gustafsson spent the season wasting away in the press box as a healthy scratch, the Flyers will be paying an older guy to do that. Gustafsson, as you remember, was so turned away by that handling that he decided to bolt to the KHL.
“We’d like to add a guy,” Hextall said. “We all know how things change and players get injured, so yeah, we’d like to add a veteran defenseman if we can.”
Here’s a quick scouting report on Schultz, via Forecaster. He’s not that great, but again, he’s just depth.
| Assets: | Has excellent mobility and grit for the blueline position. Plays with poise and is capable of logging a lot of minutes. Always gives his all and leads by example. |
| Flaws: | Lacks the physicality to truly dominate offensive forwards. Doesn’t play with a lot of confidence in the offensive zone at the National Hockey League level. |
| Career Potential: | Solid defensive defenseman. |
All told, this is pretty inconsequential. Schultz will be the bottom/7th defenseman on the depth chart, and it’s better than letting a kid with potential sit in the press box. Schultz played for both Edmonton and Columbus last year, averaging 16 minutes per night in 69 games with the two clubs. He played less than ten minutes in parts of two games with the Blue Jackets in the playoffs against Pittsburgh.
A third pairing defenseman at best being paid like a third pairing defenseman. And he’s better than Hal Gill. Works.
