After 12 seasons in the National Hockey League, right-shot defenceman Justin Schultz is calling it a career.
The 34-year-old wasn’t able to find an NHL contract over the off-season so he inked a deal to play with HC Lugano in Switzerland. Schultz played in eight games for Lugano and picked up six assists. The team announced on Friday that he’ll be returning to Canada.
Hockey Club Lugano announces that player Justin Schultz informed the club yesterday of his decision to end his career with immediate effect for strictly personal reasons and to return immediately to Canada.
These are the words of the 34-year-old born in British Columbia:
“Mine is a strictly personal choice. I discussed it with my family and I made the decision to end my career here and return to Canada. I thank Hockey Club Lugano for the professionalism shown and for respecting my choice and I wish the club and the team to find the path to success again.”
Faced with this sudden development of the situation, Hockey Club Lugano regrets that it cannot do anything other than respect a personal decision and terminate the professional relationship with the player early. The black and white club is evaluating all possible options on the market to find a replacement.
Out of respect for the player’s choice, both the club and Justin Schultz will not be making any further statements on the matter.
The Kelowna native was selected 43rd overall in the 2008 draft by the Anaheim Ducks. After three seasons at the University of Wisconsin, he elected to head to free agency, signing with the Edmonton Oilers on June 30, 2012.
There was excitement in the air about Schultz’s signing, as it seemed as if the team’s Oil Change was coming to an end. The Oilers already had Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Nail Yakupov on the front end, with an eventual defence core of Oscar Klefbom and Justin Schultz on the way.
The 2012-13 season was shortened due to a lockout, with the teams playing just 48 games against their conference. In his first season, Schultz scored eight goals and 27 points in 48 games. On April 3, 2013, the Oilers found themselves in a postseason spot with less than a month to play, but ended up with the seventh-worst record in the league. 
Schultz scored 33 and 31 points in 2013-14 and 2014-15 but struggled to develop his defensive game. The Oilers moved him during the 2015-16 season to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a third-round pick. It was used on defenceman Filip Berglund, who only wound up playing one season in North America.
Schultz, on the other hand, won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017. The best season of his career came in 2016-17 when he scored 51 points in 78 games while logging 20:27 per night on average and finished 10th in Norris Trophy voting. 
He spent another three seasons with the Penguins before signing with their Metropolitan Division rivals, the Washington Capitals. He spent two seasons there, before signing with the newest National Hockey League team, the Seattle Kraken. In his first season with the Kraken, he scored seven goals and 34 points, the second-highest point total of his career, as the Kraken made the postseason for the first time in their history.
Making it to Game 7 of the second round, Schultz scored three goals and 10 points in 14 games. His final National Hockey League season was in 2023-24, where he scored seven goals and 26 points in 70 games. For the first time since the 2014-15 season, Schultz didn’t participate in the postseason as the Kraken missed the playoffs.
While his Oilers tenure didn’t live up to the lofty expectations placed on him, Schultz went on to have a very nice career with two Stanley Cup rings. He also played with legends such as Connor McDavid, Alex Ovechkin, and Sidney Crosby during his time in the NHL. Not many can say they’ve done that.
Best of luck in retirement, Jultz!
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