The Passing Of A Torch -- Is Jeff Schultz The Caps' New Stopper?

by Gould Old Days on Jan 12, 2010 3:43 PM EST

The topic of the day seems to be Jeff Schultz's strong play. The Coach had kind words for Schultz, but is Boudreau putting his money where his mouth is and really relying on Schultz? Well, the time on ice data paints a pretty clear picture: Here's a comparison of of the TOI for Schultz and Tom Poti this season.

And here's their respective special teams time:

The scatter plots can be tough to read, but there's no mistaking the trends here in this month-by-month chart:

The bottom line is that Boudreau is increasingly relying on Schultz, both for more minutes per game and for more tough PK minutes per game. I predict that these trends will flatten out, since the pairing of Poti and Schultz has been very effective so far. But I think the days of Schultz seeing significantly less time on the penalty kill or on the ice in general are behind us.

Jeff Schultz has arrived as a trusted stopper.

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Hard work AND pro Schultz? You’ve got my rec.

"I must be hallucinating. What's a good thing for a hangover?"
"Drinking heavily the night before."

by Bald Pollack on Jan 12, 2010 3:48 PM EST reply actions

…and in an Olympic year, to boot.

:: sniffle ::

IS KEPTIN NOW

by EmilyB on Jan 12, 2010 4:03 PM EST reply actions

Rec’d for graph usage to prove a point. very professional looking. Just curious, what program did you use?

"It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black."

by Laich It Or Lump It on Jan 12, 2010 5:02 PM EST reply actions

Just Excel ’03

Atta dinnin stick a who!

by Gould Old Days on Jan 12, 2010 6:38 PM EST up reply actions

This explains the crappy -axis labels…still rec’d, good job.

by fnralch on Jan 13, 2010 6:09 PM EST up reply actions

oops, Y axis labels that is.

by fnralch on Jan 13, 2010 6:09 PM EST up reply actions

Yup. Impossible to give them real minute totals. Pretty dumb.

Atta dinnin stick a who!

by Gould Old Days on Jan 13, 2010 10:46 PM EST up reply actions

Rec’d. Great effort and I’m a huge fan of anything that tends to show that Poti is not our shutdown D.

Now let's say you and I go toe to toe on bird law and see who comes out the victor.

by Rob Parker on Jan 12, 2010 5:14 PM EST reply actions

I don’t even think that he is or ever was.

My ability to post is only surpassed by my ability to pinch pennies.

by jordanDC on Jan 12, 2010 5:43 PM EST up reply actions

Hahaha... truth.

But as much as I wouldn’t call Poti a shutdown D, I wouldn’t call Schultz one either. (Maybe the closest we have, but a far cry)

More like a large, positionally sound, stay at home D man with negative grit and admittedly inflated stats, who shines defensively among a group of below average (to awful) blueliners.

by Bushwood Bushwhacker on Jan 14, 2010 3:30 PM EST up reply actions

I’d just ask what you are looking for in a shutdown defenseman. Do you have a list of guys who you feel sh/w/could replace him? Feel free to start with dudes earning three times what 55 is making.

Support your local bakery!

by bigonetimer on Jan 14, 2010 5:17 PM EST up reply actions

shines defensively among a group of below average (to awful) blueliners.

If the vast majority of the NHL are below average (to awful) blueliners, sure.

by David Getz on Jan 14, 2010 7:44 PM EST up reply actions

The vast majority of NHL D are below average (to awful). I bet I could find 4 D that suck on 25/30 teams.

Now let's say you and I go toe to toe on bird law and see who comes out the victor.

by Rob Parker on Jan 14, 2010 8:18 PM EST up reply actions

Rec'd him, I hardly touched him!

by Chris meet Alex on Jan 12, 2010 5:45 PM EST reply actions

btw, such a tease with the scatter charts, until the big line-chart-reveal!

by Chris meet Alex on Jan 12, 2010 5:46 PM EST up reply actions

I really dig the scatter charts. Stare at ’em long enough, and you start seeing things…

Atta dinnin stick a who!

by Gould Old Days on Jan 12, 2010 6:39 PM EST up reply actions

who knew it’s really a ‘magic eye’ that reveals a picture of Sarge!

by bigity b on Jan 14, 2010 8:37 PM EST up reply actions

Great post, although I think it might be a clearer picture of the situation to compare the rise of Schultz with the fall of ShaMo (which, as far as I can tell, has been far more dramatic).

by brs03 on Jan 13, 2010 9:07 AM EST reply actions

Hooray for Schultz love!

by dgreen on Jan 13, 2010 5:36 PM EST reply actions

Gouldie, I rec’d this but didn’t comment on its awesomeness previously. Well done.

Further sign of Schultz as shutdown: Gabby paired him with Green to try to break the latter’s defensive slide.

Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world

by J.P. on Jan 14, 2010 6:48 AM EST reply actions

Or because 26 would have trouble cracking the Stingrays’ lineup right now.

But agreed on 55. He’s playing his best sustained hockey of his career right now. Hellooooooooo contract year.

Modern Art Notes

by TylerG on Jan 14, 2010 10:20 AM EST up reply actions

Well done. Hope those TOI lines continue to diverge a bit further.

A man gotta have a code

by Carl Putnam on Jan 14, 2010 11:08 AM EST reply actions

Anything that comes from photobucket-land is blocked by the Man for me

But more rec’s than comments seems pretty good

"I'm not adopted and I'm not an Indian. It's just a coincidence that I have a love of gambling and booze and a knack for catching syphilis." -Jerri Blank

by Icebat on Jan 14, 2010 1:11 PM EST reply actions

Schultz is rapidly emerging into the shutdown defenseman he can be. Now he needs to work on his shot. If he were able to leverage his size, he could probably get his shot up to 95-98 mph. He also needs to work on the accuracy.

But all this can be learned…

Let's go Caps!

by MikeL-Pivonka on Jan 14, 2010 1:37 PM EST reply actions

He’d have to bulk up first.

My ability to post is only surpassed by my ability to pinch pennies.

by jordanDC on Jan 14, 2010 2:02 PM EST up reply actions

He did some bulking up last summer; I’d expect more next summer as well…

I need a snappy signature...

by IRockTheRed on Jan 14, 2010 3:41 PM EST up reply actions

Ted loves Sarge, too.

Go Caps! And thank goodness we never listen to some of the "experts" that call into radio shows after our games. Just saying…"Jeff Schultz leads the entire NHL in plus/minus rating."

I have a C on my heart.

by boutros23 on Jan 14, 2010 5:53 PM EST reply actions