The Oilers still wait on the signing of one last returning player in Justin Schultz. The Defensemen whose ear Oilers management had whispered sweet nothings into all year is apparently dissatisfied with the value they now insist he is worth and are willing to invest. This has been a private battle, with little to no info from either side leaking out all summer, and that’s a good thing. So I wonder then what the news of Cody Franson’s new 1 year, 3.3M deal means, if anything, to either party.

You see I view Franson as the superior player as of today, saying nothing about how either player may develop moving forward. That said, they are very similar in several respects despite key differences. One such difference would Franson’s 3 Inch, 20lb height and weight advantage over Schultz. The slight Schultz will be relying on defensive positioning that he hasn’t yet mastered to make up for the physical discrepancies. Perhaps if he had played Major Junior with more time in the AHL he could have picked up more, but if he had gone down that route the Oilers never would have been able to use the College loop-hole to get him.

As for their Offensive numbers they look like this:

Franson 79GP, 5-28-33, 115 shots
Schultz 74GP, 11-22-33, 109 shots

Offensively speaking they had incredibly similar years, the biggest difference being Schultz’ excellent shooting percentage, which may actually be close to his true talent level given it was his major calling card coming into the Pro game. JS will hopefully be insulated even further this coming year and he isn’t a finished product by any stretch of the imagination so one hopes there will be more from him moving forward, but paying for future production is scary. With Hall it was evident there was more to him and he proved it. With Nuge that feeling is there too. But that same confidence just isn’t there with Schultz.

Both right handed Defensemen faced the second tier of opposition, but the possession numbers tell two different stories about what happened when they did. Remembering that both the Oilers and the Leafs were terrible possession clubs, Cody Franson had a 44.9CF% with a +2.6CorsiRel and Justin Schultz had a 42.9CF% with a -2.6CorsiRel. Put in other words, compared to their own teammates Franson was pushing the river and Schultz was laying anchor.

Now Schultz has played just 122 NHL games compared to Franson’s 322 and it’s more than possible that when the younger man gets to 322 he’ll be the one pushing the puck the right direction more often than not, but he hasn’t yet and he shouldn’t be getting credit for things he hasn’t yet done.

That 3.3M dollar deal that Franson signed is one that I would be very comfortable giving to Justin Schultz as a bridge deal. For the Oilers they would get to see one more year at a reasonable (and I think fair) price with the ability to sign him to more money and more term if he takes the steps he might be capable of taking. The Leafs are poised to lose Franson to Free Agency next year where someone will pay him big money.

I have no clue if 3.3M is way under what the Schultz party is asking for, but if it was then this deal should make him feel pretty uncomfortable about his position.

Follow me on Twitter @Archaeologuy

Join the Discussion: » 749 Comments » Post New Comment

» Farewell

» The Most Dangerous Game

» Calling Kovalchuk

» Oilers Sign Koskinen

» Oilers Drafting 10th...If At All