The 30-year-old defenseman scored 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 46 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season He missed 24 games with a lower-body injury but returned to have one assist in four postseason games.
"Health-wise I'm fine, feeling really good actually," Schultz said Tuesday. "I'm training hard. I had obviously a few unfortunate injuries that I couldn't really do anything about, but I feel good."
Schultz has scored 214 points (50 goals, 164 assists) in 482 regular-season games with the Penguins and Edmonton Oilers, and 29 points (six goals, 23 assists) in 56 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He reunites with Capitals forward Carl Hagelin, his Penguins teammate from when they won the Stanley Cup in 2016 and '17.
"[Hagelin] reached out right away to me actually to congratulate me and then I know (defenseman) Brenden Dillon a little bit," Schultz said. "We played a world championship together in Sweden. But they both said just a great group of guys, a great team and they're excited for me. They know I'll love it there and fit right in."
Originally selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the second round (No. 43) of the 2008 NHL Draft, Schultz did not sign a contract and signed with the Oilers as a free agent July 1, 2012, after three seasons at the University of Wisconsin.
"I think talking to (coach) Peter [Laviolette] you can try him with both Dillon and [Dmitry Orlov]," Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said. "We've got some flexibility now. I think we really like his offensive potential, his ability to join the rush, ability to quarterback a power play. I think Peter's teams activate defense aggressively, so we were trying to find a guy that fit that bill for him."
