The Washington Capitals have signed restricted free agent defenseman Jeff Schultz to a four-year contract, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today. In keeping with club policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Schultz, 24, is coming off the best season of his career having led the NHL in plus/minus rating with a +50. Schultz's plus/minus rating was also the best single-season rating in franchise history.
The signing comes two days after Schultz filed for salary arbitration, a move Schultz said was more of a precautionary measure in a conference call earlier this afternoon.
"I saw salary arbitration as a precautionary measure in case something didn’t get done so we weren’t left with nothing," said Schultz. "I’m glad we were able to get a deal done before that happened."
Schultz also said he was happy with a four-year deal instead of a five-year deal.
"It means I’m in their plans in the long term and I feel like they want me to be a part of the team for a while," said Schultz. "This is a team that is getting better every year and I want to be a part of that."
Schultz, who's 23 points last season (3g, 25a) were also a career high, is the second of the Capitals four restricted free agents to sign with the team as his signing comes one day after center/right wing Boyd Gordon signed a one year deal. Tomas Fleischmann and Erich Fehr are the only two restricted free agents yet to sign, and both filed for salary arbitration with Schultz on Monday.
The Capitals also signed defenseman Brian Fahey to a one-year contract and left wing Kyle Greentree to a two-year contract on Wednesday. Fahey spent last season with Lake Erie in the American Hockey League recording 25 points in 71 games, while Greentree led the AHL's Rockford IceHogs with 25 goals in 64 games last season. Both are expected to be assigned to the Hershey Bears.
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