Often when a bidding war happens for undrafted free agents out of the NCAA, there is more hype than substance (hello Tyler Bozak and Stephane Da Costa), but the bidding war for free agent Justin Schultz was a little different. The former Anaheim 2nd round draft pick didn’t reach a deal with the Ducks within the allocated window and became an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.
There was a number of teams in the hunt for the defenseman, who took meetings with many clubs, including the Ottawa Senators. In fact, the Sens were on the short list of teams that came down to the wire before Schultz decided that the young Edmonton Oilers would be the best fit for his services.
If the first 13 games of his pro career are any indication, Schultz will be the one that got away for many teams. Not only does Schultz, currently playing for the Oilers’ farm team in Oklahoma City, lead all rookies and all defensemen in scoring, but he holds a two point lead on teammate Jordan Eberle for the league lead.
Schultz was the player of the month for October in the AHL and by all accounts has been as good as expected and is living up to the hype.
Imagine the Senators power play with Erik Karlsson and Schultz.
Ohhhh what could have been…..