According to insider Pierre LeBrun on The Athletic, Florida Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt is as good as gone. The pending UFA will likely be hitting the open market as free agency opens July 1st.
This would be a big loss for the Panthers as the 33 year old defenseman proved to be a crucial part of their Stanley Cup winning run this past year. During the regular season, he touted 5 goals and 14 assists for 19 points in 80 games.
However, it was during the playoffs this past season where Nate Schmidt really stepped up his game. In 23 games, Schmidt registered 3 goals and 9 assists for 12 points in 23 games. He asserted himself as an integral member of that Cats dangerous D core that proved to be untouchable for every opposing offense they matched up against.
Of course Nate Schmidt is not the only Florida dman whose future with the club is in doubt. 2014 1st overall pick Aaron Ekblad is also a pending UFA, who could very well be on the move. Florida has some decisions to make in the allocating money department, at the moment it looks like they are prioritizing the forward group as pending UFAs Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett seem more likely by the day to stay.
If they lose those dmen, the strength of Florida’s D core will be tested. Perhaps the acquisition of former Blackhawk Seth Jones makes Bill Zito feel these blueline pieces are expendable.
As for Nate Schmidt, where he lands is a mystery. If he moves on from Florida any team looking for a reliable top 6 defenseman should have interest.
