Justin Schultz: 2021-22 season review

June 22, 2022 10:25 am

Justin Schultz is a defender who sometimes struggles to defend the part of the ice where a lot of goals get scored.

By the Numbers

74	games played
16.9	time on ice per game
4	goals
19	assists
51.3	5-on-5 shot-attempt percentage
51.5	5-on-5 expected goal percentage
45.7	5-on-5 goal percentage

Visualization by HockeyViz

About this visualization: This series of charts made by Micah Blake McCurdy of hockeyviz.com shows lots of information for the player over the season. A short description of each chart:

Most common teammates during 5-on-5
Ice time per game, split up by game state
5-on-5 adjusted shot attempts by the team (black) and opponents (red)
5-on-5 adjusted shooting percentage by the team (black) and opponents (red)
Individual scoring events by the player
5-on-5 adjusted offensive (black) and defensive (red) zone starts

Fan Happiness Survey

About this visualization: At three times during the season, RMNB shared an open survey with fans, asking the following question for each player:

On a scale from 1 to 5, how HAPPY are you to have this player on the team?

1 means VERY UNHAPPY TO HAVE THEM ON THE TEAM
2 means UNHAPPY
3 means NEITHER HAPPY NOR UNHAPPY
4 means HAPPY
5 means VERY HAPPY TO HAVE THEM ON THE TEAM

The numbers above show the average score for the player in each survey period.

Peter’s Take

I liked Justin Schultz when he was added to the Caps roster two years ago, but the bloom came off the rose in 2021-22. Despite having positive on-ice shot-attempt and expected-goal percentages, the Caps were outscored 51 to 43 during Schultz’s shifts. I can’t tell you how many of those 51 opponent goals were followed by a text message from ex-RMNBer Pat Holden saying something like “Schultz woof.” I mean, I could tell you, but that’s a lot of work and I don’t think it would be enriching to your understanding of Justin Schultz.

Okay nevermind. I looked it up, and it’s seven. Nearly fourteen percent of opponent goalies during Schultz’s shifts were followed by a text message from Pat blaming Schultz for the goal. And I don’t think Pat saw all 51 opponent goals.

If it seems like I’m goofing here, that’s because I am. But Schultz’s trouble with defending the crease is no laughing matter, unless you’re making a joke about how bad it is, which is kinda funny. Here from HockeyViz is a heatmap of Schultz’s impact on opponent shot locations; please see the big red blob in front of the net.

Schultz, 31, is an expiring free agent. He won’t be back, which gives the Caps some interesting options both as his replacement and as for what they do with Trevor van Riemsdyk, the subject of Friday’s review.