PRIOR LAKE, Minn. — As he heads to his first training camp with the Florida Panthers, veteran defenseman Nate Schmidt has a problem to deal with.
At age 33, with more than a decade of experience manning NHL blue lines, Schmidt is in amazingly good shape. His challenge has more to do with wardrobe than anything else. Cut loose by the Winnipeg Jets after three seasons there, Schmidt signed with the Panthers over the summer, just weeks after they hoisted the Stanley Cup in South Florida for the first time.
Speaking with The Rink Live at the University of Minnesota’s annual men’s hockey alumni golf outing, Schmidt was asked what one does with all of their heavy winter clothes when moving from the NHL’s coldest city to one of the warmest.
ADVERTIsem*nT
“I actually haven’t been up to Winnipeg to get everything, but I think some of my Canada Goose (gear) will stay there,” said Schmidt, with his seemingly perpetual friendly smile.
When Winnipeg waived him, some predicted that Schmidt would command as much as $3 million on the free agent market. Instead he signed for one year at $800,000, saying that at this point in his career, winning — not money — is the motivating factor. He also admitted that a chance to reunite with Panthers coach Paul Maurice, who coached him for a season in Winnipeg, was part of the equation that landed him on the edge of the Everglades.
READ MORE MINNESOTA GOPHERS COVERAGE:
WCHA
Sadie Lindsay ready to make an immediate impact at St. Thomas
Lindsay, a former three-time state champion at Breck, has spent the past three seasons at Minnesota and will now transfer to St. Thomas for 2024-25.
6d ago
·
By Sydney Wolf
Big Ten
Gophers likely moving on without Rhett Pitlick
In an interview at the Minnesota State Fair, U of M coach Bob Motzko said he expects the high-scoring forward will sign a pro contract rather than returning for his senior season in maroon and gold.
Aug 28
·
By Jess Myers
Big Ten
Big Ten schedule release shows Gophers opening at home Nov. 1-2
Home and road series Penn State bookend Minnesota's 2024-25 conference slate, which includes a critical eight-game stretch in January and February as the Gophers look for their seventh Big Ten title.
Aug 28
·
By Jess Myers
Big Ten
Deep discounts on some Gophers hockey tickets at Minnesota State Fair
While the Big Ten schedule has not yet been revealed, tickets for a half-dozen of the Gophers' nonconference home games are available at bargain prices during the Great Minnesota Get-Together.
Aug 22
·
By Jess Myers
Big Ten
Don Lucia to be inducted into Gophers' athletics hall of fame
The northern Minnesota product came to the U of M in 1999 and coached the Gophers to their two most recent NCAA hockey titles. Joel Maturi will also be recognized by the school's M Club.
Aug 19
·
By Jess Myers
Big Ten
Gophers' coach Bob Motzko quietly confident with 2024-25 season two months away
"We've got a chance to be awful good," Motzko said, in a conversation with The Rink Live at the program's annual alumni golf outing.
Aug 16
·
By Jess Myers
Big Ten
Ryan Chesley striding into veteran status on Gophers' blue line
As the team looks to ride a young goalie back to the top of the Big Ten, the Gophers will rely on defensive experience like that of the rising junior who is a Washington Capitals top prospect.
Aug 14
·
By Jess Myers
NHL
Exciting opportunity awaits former Gopher Brady Skjei in Music City
The former Gophers defenseman was one of the Predators' big-name additions over the summer, and admits savoring the chance to pass the puck to the likes of Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault.
Aug 12
·
By Jess Myers
Big Ten
Road series at defending champion Denver highlights Wisconsin's non-conference slate
The Badgers will host Lindenwood and Alaska Anchorage for the second consecutive season and will head to Milwaukee after Christmas looking to defend their holiday tourney title.
Jul 31
·
By Jess Myers
NHL
Budding star Wild defenseman Brock Faber inks $68M contract extension
The former Minnesota Gophers captain and Twin Cities native is locked up for the next nine seasons under a new deal that will pay $8.5M annually starting one year from now.
Jul 29
·
By Jess Myers
WCHA
WCHA signs 3-year extension with B1G+
More than 140 games will be available through the streaming service.
Jul 29
·
By Mick Hatten
WCHA
Gophers add decorated defender from Colgate
Sydney Morrow had 13 goals and 26 assists for the Raiders, a Frozen Four participant last season before losing to Wisconsin
Jul 19
·
By St. Paul Pioneer Press
“Paul is a guy where the moment you get to camp the first time, you can understand what kind of a man he is and how he treats his guys and how he handles his room,” Schmidt said. “That’s one of the biggest things that drew me to him is how he treats his players. He expects a lot out of guys. He also expects them to be great guys, great humans and great people, and I think that brings your room along with it.”
The summer included another trophy as Schmidt, skating in Da Beauty League, won his third consecutive John Scott Cup.
Tom Morris / TeMo Photo
Originally from St. Cloud, Schmidt played juniors for the Fargo Force before finding his way to the Gophers defense corps under Don Lucia. After logging just 13 games as a freshman, Schmidt blossomed into one of the top defenders at a program renowned for developing blueliners. He was a key cog in the the team's run to the 2012 NCAA Frozen Four in Tampa, and was an All-WCHA first-teamer in 2013 — the Gophers' final season in that conference. Undrafted, he signed as a free agent with the Washington Capitals after his junior year.
Bruce Kluckhohn / Gopher Sports
Schmidt spent parts of four seasons with the Caps, then was claimed by Vegas in the expansion draft prior to the Golden Knights’ inaugural season, in which they made an improbable run to the 2018 Stanley Cup Final. When Vegas fell to Washington in the championship series, Schmidt joked that his departure from the Caps was clearly what put them over the top. He spent three seasons with the Knights and one in Vancouver before signing with the Jets in 2021, and now joins a Panthers roster that has had some turnover since the Cup parade.
“You can’t walk into a group that just won it and say, ‘I want those minutes.’ You have to earn them,” Schmidt said, looking ahead to his first Panthers training camp. “I know that they lost some guys but those minutes aren’t easily obtained.”
ADVERTIsem*nT
He also joked that finding the right size place to live in South Florida was a challenge, as they expect lots of friends from Minnesota to want to visit in the winters. Nate and his wife Allie, a former Gophers soccer player, have a young son who loves the water, but they resisted the temptation of living right on the ocean.
“I was first trying to look at beachfront (property) and all that stuff, but I realize I’m going there for a job,” Schmidt said.
Jim Rassol/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
And make no mistake, he’s going there to reunite with Maurice and work toward bringing the Panthers a second consecutive NHL title.
“I thought I was playing some of my best hockey under (Paul) in Winnipeg, and maybe we can rekindle that,” Schmidt said of the radical relocation, adding later: “It’s bringing a lot of energy to me and my game. It’s a fresh start for me.”
By Jess Myers
Jess Myers covers college hockey, as well as outdoors, general sports and travel, for The Rink Live and the Forum Communications family of publications. He came to FCC in 2018 after three decades of covering sports as a freelancer for a variety of publications, while working full time in politics and media relations. A native of Warroad, Minn. (the real Hockeytown USA), Myers has a degree in journalism/communications from the University of Minnesota Duluth. He lives in the Twin Cities. Contact Jess via email at jrmyers@forumcomm.com, or find him on Twitter via @JessRMyers. English speaker.
