A longtime NHL blueliner -- and a veteran Kraken D-man and two-time Stanley Cup champion -- is hanging up his skates after a brief stint overseas.
Former Kraken defenseman Justin Schultz has announced his retirement after playing the past handful of weeks in Switzerland. The 34-year-old had been playing for HC Lugano in the Swiss League, but he only played eight games for the team before announcing his retirement Friday.
Schultz last played in the NHL for the Kraken in the 2022-23 season and the 2023-24 campaign, appearing in 143 games with Seattle and generating 14 goals and 60 points in that span. Over the course of 13 NHL seasons, Schultz played in 745 regular-season games with the Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals and the Kraken, posting 71 goals and 324 points.
Schultz was a two-time Stanley Cup-winner with the Penguins, winning championships in back-to-back Cup-wins in 2016 and 2017. In 81 career Stanley Cup playoff games, Schultz amassed 10 goals and 42 points.
A native of Kelowna, B.C., Schultz went to school at the University of Wisconsin, where he was a two-time WCHA defensive player of the year. Following three years at Wisconsin, Schultz went pro and spent one season in the American League, winning the AHL's defenseman of the year in 2012-13 after putting up 18 goals and 48 points in 34 games with the Oklahoma City Barons.
In his two years with the Kraken, Schultz helped Seattle to its first playoff run in 2022-23, posting seven assists and 10 points in 14 post-season games. He brought a patient, defensively-savvy game to the team, and he'll no doubt be fondly remembered by Kraken fans.