Nate Schmidt Turning Things Around with the Florida Panthers

FORT LAUDERDALE — When the final year of his contract was bought out by the Winnipeg Jets, it did not take Nate Schmidt long to set his sights on joining the Florida Panthers.

After going through a couple rough years with the Jets — which included being a healthy scratch 18 times last season, not including two games in the playoffs — Schmidt needed to get his game back in gear.

The Panthers, he figured, would help him do that.

With Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Brandon Montour, and Josh Mahura all leaving following last season, Florida offered an opportunity.

Schmidt has grabbed hold of it.

“It is fun just because I go into each game knowing what our game plan looks like,” said Schmidt, who looks like one of Florida’s top offseason acquisitions. “They don’t ask anyone to do anything other than what they can give. And I know what my game looks like when it’s going good, and that is very freeing. It frees up your mind and makes you want to play. That part has been great.”

In Saturday’s 4-3 shootout win against the Flyers, Schmidt picked up his second goal of the season.

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Aside from being scratched in the opener against Boston, Schmidt played in Florida’s next 14 games and seems to have settled in with Uvis Balinskis on the third pairing.

Schmidt is also getting some power play time on the second unit.

“From his training camp to now, he just keeps building,” coach Paul Maurice said. “It’s good for all of those guys to get some points, feel good.”

Maurice, after all, was one reason why Schmidt wanted to join the Panthers in the first place.

After signing a six-year, $35.7 million contract with Vegas in 2018, Schmidt was traded to Vancouver in 2020, and then to Maurice’s Jets in 2021.

Maurice ended up resigning as coach of the Jets — Florida plays host to Winnipeg on Saturday — a few months into that 2021-22 season, but Schmidt felt like his game was headed in the right direction.

That seems to be the case again, only this time, it is going down with the defending Stanley Cup champions in South Florida.

“There is a template that Paul gives you and how you are expected to play,” Schmidt said. “The biggest thing I have seen here is what the guys expect out of one another. Paul set this room up to be a well-oiled machine. It runs itself.’’

One of the things players do not like talking about is their contract, but Schmidt admits there was a lot of pressure living up to those big bucks in Winnipeg.

When his game was not at its best, the first things fans and media brought up was the contract.

Winnipeg buying him out of that final year did not come as much of a surprise.

“That is a part of the game, and it does not matter what is going on,” Schmidt said. “It is a feeling where you sometimes feel like you have to do this and that instead of realizing where you fit in with a group, where you are needed in the room, and where you fit in on the ice. There is so much less pressure. I still want to play, I still want to be good and perform at a high level. I want to prove I can do certain things. Paul says, ‘I don’t want you to have any fear.’ I have been scratched in my career, and that happens. But that takes a load off of your shoulders.”

Here in Florida, Schmidt does not have any of those added pressures. He is here on a league-minimum contract and is just trying to help the team win.

So far, so good.

The Panthers, Schmidt said in training camp, do not look like a team resting on their laurels.

“I’ve been really impressed with how the guys have taken themselves and approached this year with the idea that ‘It was awesome, I want that again’,” Schmidt said.

“It wasn’t ‘That was awesome. Peace. Enjoy myself. Enjoy the rest of my career.’ That’s not the type of mentality that I’ve seen so far.”

ON DECK: GAME 16

NEW JERSEY DEVILS AT FLORIDA PANTHERS 

• When: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Local TV: None
• National Streaming: ESPN+/Hulu
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Season Series — At Panthers: Tuesday, Thursday. At Devils: Jan. 14.
• Last Season: Florida won 2-1
• All-time Regular Season Series: Devils lead 58-37-7, 7 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Thursday vs. New Jersey Devils*, 7 p.m. (Local TV)

(*) — Not a Typo. Florida plays New Jersey in consecutive home games.