Penguins Acquire Justin Schultz

The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired defenseman Justin Schultz from the Edmonton Oilers, the teams announced Saturday evening.

In return for the 25-year-old defender the Oilers will get a 3rd round pick in the 2016 draft from Pittsburgh.

Additionally, ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun notes that the Oilers are expected to retain 50% of Schultz’s salary in the move.

That puts the cost to the Penguins at $1.95 million or $450,806 for the rest of the season.

Schultz’s time in Edmonton hasn’t gone as expected, with former general manager Craig MacTavish setting the bar high on arrival by stating that Schultz would become a Norris-winning defenseman. In his first two seasons with the team he was a black hole for possession and saw his offense numbers decrease year over year.

However, he’s certainly a candidate for improving with a change of scenery from a home rink where he’s recently been booed. He has shown improved numbers over the last two seasons, posting the second best CF%Rel among team defensemen after seeing a shift in his usage. Placed in a depth pairing and not forced into a top pairing role where he doesn’t fit, it’s possible he finally finds a place where he can succeed in Pittsburgh.

This season he’s scored three goals and 10 points in 45 games.