Report [Speculation] Possibility Of Justin Schultz Signing With Vancouver

[NAILED-BY-THE-HAMMER]

B.C. looks to be developing players at a terrific rate in the last decade. hope we find a way to convince him to sign and further develop within vancouver's organisation.

[Stick-in-Rink]

Wow I'd love to have this B.C. boy, it seems like he's exactly what we need..

But all we're hearing right now is going to be speculation, we'll just have to wait and see. I don't know what the big discrepancy is of him not signing with the Ducks. I'm sure every league is going to be an offer on the table if he does choose to be a free agent, but it's all up to him. If Gillis pulled that off, I think we'd all forget about Coho leaving

[Ilya Mikheyev]

B.C. looks to be developing players at a terrific rate in the last decade. hope we find a way to convince him to sign and further develop within vancouver's organisation.

[Z.Kassian9]

Damn that's one good stache haha

[Phil_314]

pretty solid wrister and a bomb, one marginal hipcheck lol; is he physical? (report says that he doesn't play D; could he be another Bieksa if he is physical? He looks like a right handed Lidstrom just by how he carried the puck in the vid-- no I didn't mean the hit was Lidstrom-like lol)

[Ilya Mikheyev]

pretty solid wrister and a bomb, one marginal hipcheck lol; is he physical? (report says that he doesn't play D; could he be another Bieksa if he is physical? He looks like a right handed Lidstrom just by how he carried the puck in the vid-- no I didn't mean the hit was Lidstrom-like lol)

[Ilya Mikheyev]

Schultz could get a shot immediately with the Ducks and maybe he’s loyal to the team that drafted him. I would be. But maybe Schultz wants to play the field. Maybe he wouldn’t mind passing it to RNH, Hall and Eberle. Or, maybe he would rather sign and play for the Canucks, closer to his Kelowna home? There could be a long lineup for Schultz. He’s that good.

[Guest Dasein]

RIGHT HANDED SHOT - the very reason why Kevin Bieksa has immunity from being benched.

Schultz will get every chance in the world to make this team if he chooses Vancouver.

[MoneypuckOverlord]

Lets just put it this way, he's either good enough to playin the NHL or he's not, it doesn't matter even if he signs to a weaker team, were his chance of playing in the NHL is higher. The chance of him making the NHL right away if he signed with Columbus over a team like Vancouver is tiny. It's all wether he is good enough or not to play at the NHL level. But again, he has every oppurtunity to make the team. Look at Chris Tanev. He's already playing games with us.

[Guest Dasein]

Yeah, he looks like Lidstrom when he is manning the point as well (at least that was my thought).

Doesn't look very much like Lidstrom rushing down the side though... haha.

I don't think he's known as a 'physical' style player, but that might have to do with his weight. If he could put on 12-16 pounds I would bet he would become a bit more of a physical presence.

Man, if GMMG could actually sign J-Schultz... holy.

[Ilya Mikheyev]

It would have nothing to do with Gillis but the fact that it's Vancouver if Schultz signs here - he'd sign here even if it was Brian Burke because this is his home team (I'm assuming).

[Guest Dasein]

I think the way the team is run has to be a factor to some people. It would to me. If Scott Howson or Pat Quinn was running this team and not Mike Gillis and I was an UFA, there's a much better chance I would look elsewhere.

[Ilya Mikheyev]

But it's not ANY UFA - it's Schultz who is a hometown boy.

For example, I give Mike Gillis 0 credits for signing Dan Hamhuis - the guy freaking held out on 3 different teams as a pending UFA in June until he finally hit free agency on July 1st and got a call from Vancouver.

That's clearly a case where the player signs because of the city - I think, of course, the fact that the city is playing very well is also a case, but not the GM. IF we had the team we do right now, and Burke was the GM, Schultz would still come here if he wants to play for Vancouver because it's his hometown.

[Guest Dasein]

Maybe that is the case for some players.

Some players have other desires also though. They might want to be on a winner (would Hamhuis have signed here in his prime if Vancouver was a bottom dweller?), maybe as a prospect they want to be a team with a good track record for developing prospects, maybe they want to be on a team with a family member (Sweatt?) or friend (Archibald?) and maybe they don't want to sign on with a shaky franchise (Wheeler). The fact that GMMG is turning this team into a respectable franchise has to deserve some credit if Schultz signs here, methinks.

How many college and jr. FAs signed here under Burke, Nonis and Quinn?

[Trelane42]

Doubt he'll come here. Sweatt hasn't even been given a chance to make the club, so why would he waste his time trying to crack the roster?

[DeNiro]

Well, close to home, yes. But I'd like to remind Jim Matheson that there's a certain Cranbrook BC resident that has his number retired in Anaheim and is one of the greatest to ever play the game - Scott Niedermayer.

If Murray can't get it done, I'm sure Niedermayer will give him a quick talk. That's a factor nobody's mentioned yet I don't think. If you're an aspiring defenseman and Scott Niedermayer gives you a call, you better listen to what he's got to say.

[Ilya Mikheyev]

Again, I mentioned that above - the team winning may have a factor - but that has nothing to do with the GM. Suppose Burke inherits the team from Gillis right now - the team's still winning - GM's different. Doesn't mean Schultz won't sign with us...

And Gillis has no track record of developing ANY player - Hodgson is the 1st out of his prospects to make it to the NHL and he has yet to pan out.

Schultz has no family member so it's not applicable.

Anaheim is not a shaky franchise by any means - they have the reigning Hart and Rocket Richard winner, a #1 franchise center to build the team around, a young but solid defensive core and Jonas Hiller.

Gillis did not turn this franchise into a respectable franchise - Sedins, Kesler and Luongo did - the four players acquired by Burke and Nonis that he inherited.

Of course Gillis had done great things to add depth, but by no means did he "turn" the franchise around. And as I mentioned, he had GREAT help from the fact that a hometown boy like Hamhuis were willing to take a paycut and wait out 3 franchises during that process to have a chance to play here. Why? Vancouver's his hometown team firstly, and secondly, Vancouver was a good team - not because Gillis made it, but because he inherited it.

And since you did acknowledge that it may be the case for some players - it WOULD be the case for THIS player IF he's holding out to come to Vancouver. Yes, he'd obviously like to go to a good winning team, but when one of the best teams is your hometown team, you automatically choose that regardless of the GM.

So basically what I'm trying to say is that Gillis has zero influence or credits on signing Schultz if that ends up happening, because Schultz would have chosen Vancouver regardless of whether Gillis was our GM or not - just as Hamhuis would have.

[Guest Dasein]

Except Niedermeyer wasn't developed in Anaheim, he was developed in New Jersey.

And I doubt a former player, who's not even connecte with management, is gonna call up some college player and convince him to play for the Ducks.

The fact that he's waited this long, to me says that he wants to weigh his options.

[Guest Dasein]

I didn't mean Schultz applied to those examples, I am just saying that there are other things that players like for.

GMMG has made this team more respectable. Everything from the dressing room, to his handling of the media and going the extra mile in every way - hence, why he won GM of the year award. All the little things he has done turned the team to an-out-the-playoffs team to a 2nd round exit in one year and a SCF appearance in 3 years. That's a big deal. Who knows if the Sedins or Kesler ever would have been as good as they are now had Gillis not done the things like signing Sundin, signing Burrows to a good contract, re-tooling the coaching staff, etc.

And you have no idea whether or not Hamhuis would have signed here had somebody else been negotiating the contract. It is possible, but you can't say for sure. Vancouver is the 2nd closest team to his hometown, and though Smithers has many more Vancouver fans than Edmonton fans, I think there's a strong possibility how the team has been built had an influence on him. If Nashville was the better team at the time maybe he would have re-signed to stay with his buddy Shea Weber.

If Justin is/was holding out to come to Vancouver, and BB was the GM and he negotiated contracts like he did with Umberger in Vancouver or Billy Sweatt in Toronto, then maybe he wouldn't come here, so GMMG's influence will play a part..

[johntobes]

Craig Button has him as a dark horse to make team Canada 2014. I think people are very high on him. Shultz would become the best D prospect since Edler. I think he could step right into the lineup easily next season.