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January 24, 2025
Florida panthers

When Nate Schmidt got bought out by the Winnipeg Jets, the first place he circled to were the Florida Panthers.

Not only did he think coming to the Panthers would get his career back on track, but he figured the Panthers would be a great fit for a player with the sort of personality he possesses.

“Money? I have what I need for the rest of my life,’’ said Schmidt, who had been making $6 million per season but is on a league-minimum deal with the Panthers.


“I want to win a Cup and want to do it with a team that’s going to have fun doing it.”

Watching him interact with his teammates every day, especially stall-mates Dmitry Kulikov and Sergei Bobrovsky, proves he is having fun.

As far as the hockey goes, well, that’s been pretty good as well.

After being a healthy scratch 20 times last season with the Jets, including for two playoff games, Schmidt has not missed a game with the Panthers in this one.

Not only has he been strong defensively, but he is back to quarterbacking the top power play unit with Aaron Ekblad out.

If Schmidt wanted to get his game going once again, it has happened with the Panthers.

Just as both he and the team had hoped.

“It gives me confidence knowing I have done this in my career, even over the past few years, I knew it was in there,” Schmidt told FHN last week. “A lot of times, it is just unlocking that and letting a guy run with it. It has not been a linear path here, right?”

Schmidt briefly played under Paul Maurice and assistant coach Jamie Kompon with Winnipeg in 2021.

He felt good at the start of his time in Winnipeg, and wanted to get back to that.

Nate Schmidt Excited to Find ‘Magic’ with the Florida Panthers

“You know what to expect from Paul, but you also have to understand the type of team you are coming to,’’ Schmidt said.

“It has been fun just playing our style. There is just a clear, no-nonsense part of our game as you have seen. We know what our game is, and there is no deviating from it. We know what it looks like, so we don’t go out there hoping what it will look like. So it feels good for me, as a player, to just go out there every night and do it.’’

Maurice says there is more to come from Schmidt.

He has now played 49 games with the Panthers — and it usually takes players about that amount of time to figure out what the team wants and how to do it correctly.

“I have a higher opinion on what he can do,” Maurice said. “It is not to say he has underperformed … but guys reinvent their game in this league, or sometimes they have to learn a new game. But you go back to the start, and he was up the ice and very dynamic with a lot of the things that he did. You look at the different systems he has played under, and I think this game that we play is a return to form for him. I have seen a lot of improvement from him over the past month, the past couple of weeks. He has been good.’’

Schmidt, 33, signed a one-year deal with the Panthers after being bought out by the Jets.

Is he another one-hit wonder for the Panthers, or could this just be the start of their relationship?

”That would be a question for Bill,’’ Schmidt said, referring the Florida general manager.

“Look, I have made no secret about playing for Paul. I think it has been great.”

ON DECK: GAME No. 50
FLORIDA PANTHERS @ SAN JOSE SHARKS
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