Veteran Defender Signs in Sunshine State

Panthers Ink Nate Schmidt Contract

Schmidt has played for the Washington Capitals, Vegas Golden Knights, Vancouver Canucks and the Winnipeg Jets over his 11-year NHL career. The soon-to-be 33-year-old had two goals and 12 assists for 14 points in 63 games this season. He had a Corsi for of 54.0 and a relative Corsi of 4.3

The veteran blhueliner has 47 goals and 173 assists for 220 points in 661 career games. Washington signed Schmidt as an undrafted free agent out of college after a standout career at the University of Minnesota. Vegas then picked the St Cloud, Minn. native in the expansion draft

He’s represented the United States at the international level at the 2022 IIHF World Championships. The team finished fourth in that tournament.

What It Means

Winnipeg recently bought out Schmidt on Sunday before free agency started. He didn’t get into double-digits in goals. H0wever, he can still be of use to a Florida team looking to solidify its defence.

The Panthers will have a different look on the blueliner with Brandon Montour moving on. However, this Florida team should still be in the mix to repeat.

This is a decent low-cost deal for a veteran defenceman. If it works out, then he can sign for a longer term with the team. This is a good showcase to show other teams that Schmidt can still be part of a good defensive group. He also won’t have to eat up a lot of minutes with Aaron Ekblad on the roster.