If I were a hockey betting man, I'd lay a small wager on this. And while it may come off as sounding completely ridiculous, it's not too far-fetched to predict that someday Nick Schultz's #55 will be hanging from the rafters of Xcel Energy Center. Why, you ask? Well, here are my reasons for believing so:
1. He's played more games than anyone in a Wild sweater, currently 681. That's 248 more than the next active player, Mikko Koivu, and Schultz is only 28 years old. By the time he retires, this number could be unbreakable for decades.
2. He's signed for 3 more seasons at an affordable $3.5m per. Assuming he isn't going to get traded (seriously, what team would trade for Nick?), he's going to play another 240 games here. I can see him signing another 3 year deal after that to finish his career here.
3. Who else? At some point the Wild need to retire a jersey, and outside of Koivu I can't think of anyone else. It'd be embarrassing to have only one jersey hanging after 20 seasons of existence.
4. His number won't be in high demand after he retires. I can see the argument against retiring Schultz's number if we wore something like 3 or 7, but 55? I'd even expect no one would choose that number if it weren't retired.
So there you go. Several years from now you'll stumble into Xcel and see #55 hanging from the ceiling and forget about all the turnovers, missed shots and general invisible play. All you'll remember is that I called it here first.
1. He's played more games than anyone in a Wild sweater, currently 681. That's 248 more than the next active player, Mikko Koivu, and Schultz is only 28 years old. By the time he retires, this number could be unbreakable for decades.
2. He's signed for 3 more seasons at an affordable $3.5m per. Assuming he isn't going to get traded (seriously, what team would trade for Nick?), he's going to play another 240 games here. I can see him signing another 3 year deal after that to finish his career here.
3. Who else? At some point the Wild need to retire a jersey, and outside of Koivu I can't think of anyone else. It'd be embarrassing to have only one jersey hanging after 20 seasons of existence.
4. His number won't be in high demand after he retires. I can see the argument against retiring Schultz's number if we wore something like 3 or 7, but 55? I'd even expect no one would choose that number if it weren't retired.
So there you go. Several years from now you'll stumble into Xcel and see #55 hanging from the ceiling and forget about all the turnovers, missed shots and general invisible play. All you'll remember is that I called it here first.
9 comments:
Non-factors do not get their jersey retired. Also, the Wild already have a jersey in the rafters...#1.
Give me a break. He may be gone in 3 years too. Even if he plays his whole career here, he is a role player and nothing more. Also, the Wild should be embarassed about that #1 retirement. What a joke.
I'm only commenting because the first two commenters don't apparently know anything about Hockey. "non-factor"? Seriously? The guy is a DEFENSEMAN. Not a forward. Not a center. And he's been an awfully good defenseman for a team that has actually contended without ever really having an offensive punch. The Wild have always been a defensive-minded team, and he's the guy who's logged the most minutes.
Think about it for a second before you hit publish for a comment.
Has anybody ever heard of sarcasm? Geez.
I think there is a chance they mite retire #55 a slim one but there is a chance.
Despite the fact that I think all of these reasons are pretty shallow, I do agree that #55 will be hanging from the rafters someday if Schultz finishes his career with the Wild. Night in and night out, Schultzie is the Wild's most reliable defenseman. He is constantly playing against teams' top lines on the shutdown pairing and has done so almost his entire career. I would be heartbroken to see Nick go, if he does, because he truly is the heart and soul of our defensive unit and he has been for years.
@the anon comment who said “sarcasm geez”...stfu, those top two commenters WERE NOT being sarcastic and likely have never seen the Wild play before in their lives.
I agree with the previous commenter...these reasons are pretty shallow, minus the Games Played one. But Nick is a hard worker who deserves some sort of recognition. If he can break 1000 games with the Wild, there’s no reason why #55 shouldn’t be put up there.
I was not being sarcastic and I have seen darn near every game the Wild have played since their inception. That said - I would be embarrassed if the first player we retire is #55. He is okay at best, doesn't screw up too much but never really does anything too great = non-factor. You barely notice him out there - but I guess when your team is sub-par for so long you start to appreciate that.
He might have other plans. Retiring should only be an option in the career.
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