Nylander Has to Make Room in the Doghouse for Schultz

Washington Capitals Hockey

It seems as if Michael Nylander will wile away the rest of his time as a Capital somewhere other than on the ice. His sightings in D.C.have been almost as rare as a fiscal conservative. While it's been stated by some in the know that his style of play just doesn't fit in with the fast paced Capital offense, still one would think that his addition on the third or fourth line would make a nice change of pace for the team. Considering that the Caps are paying him over $5 million a year, you would figure they could use "Circles" in some capacity. Unless the Capitals get lucky and find a team willing to take on some of his salary, it appears as if Nylander will not see much NHL action this year.

Schultz on the other hand is in the doghouse because of his play. He's slow, and for a big man he doesn't use his size at all. I've seen him get beat really bad a couple of times where he was completely turned around, once in a game against the Rangers in the playoffs last year, where he looked like a spinning top trying to locate the Ranger player that sidestepped him and put the puck in the net. In my opinion, he's no more than a 4th line NHL defensemen, and the reality is he often looks over matched at that. While not all draft picks pan out, Schultz seemed to have much promise when he first came up, but his game has not improved at all. I wouldn't be surprised to see him shipped off somewhere for a draft pick some time in the near future.