How Nate Schmidt found his ‘love for the game’ again with the Florida Panthers
Nate Schmidt spent a considerable amount of time recently breaking down what went right for the Florida Panthers during their first-round Stanley Cup playoff series win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. His primary talking point was the team’s depth and its ability to get contributions from just about anyone on the ice at any given time.
“You have to have that,” Schmidt said. “Every series is going to have someone. That’s what adds more pressure to the other team. Like, yes, the top players are going to score. Where are the other ones going to come from? Those are the ones that, in my opinion, make or break games or make or break a series.”
And while he mentioned several players by name — Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen, Seth Jones — there was one that Schmidt didn’t mention.
Nate Schmidt.
In the early going of the series, Schmidt was that guy. The defenseman scored three goals in the first two games after scoring just five total goals over 80 regular-season games. He had the eventual game-winner in both contests, making him just the sixth defenseman in NHL history to score three goals through his first two games of a playoff year and just the eighth defenseman in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) to score the game-winning goal in consecutive playoff games.
Those moments were a culmination of what this year has been for Schmidt. He doesn’t like to use the word “reset” to describe his tenure so far with the Panthers. It was a needed change of scenery, yes. A fresh slate, no doubt.
But it’s been so more than that.
It has brought back a sense of jubilation for the veteran defenseman when things could have gotten tough. His tenure with the Winnipeg Jets had gone south, including him being a healthy scratch 20 times — including twice in the playoffs — in the 2023-24 season before the team bought out the final year of his contract that was paying him nearly $6 million per season.
“I’ve never walked away from the rink being like, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore. It hate it. I don’t like it,’” Schmidt said, “but there are times where it makes it tough on you. This game is unforgiving in a lot of ways.”
A chance to start anew came in the form of the Panthers, who needed to replenish their depth on defense after losing two key players in Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
While there were some trepidations early on — Schmidt himself said his hope after signing was simply to “come in and just not screw it up” — but it didn’t take long for Schmidt to feel like he had a role for a Stanley Cup contender.
And that rejuvenated him.
“You find your love for the game,” Schmidt said.
Many factors have played a role in that. There was the clear direction from coach Paul Maurice, for whom Schmidt played briefly in Winnipeg during the 2021-22 season. Schmidt said Maurice’s message to him was “we don’t need our ‘D’ to be superhuman back there. You play this style, you do this, you do that, and you’re gonna fit right in.”
“After the first couple games, you start to kind of feel it and all of a sudden you get into game like 23 and you don’t even think about anymore,” Schmidt said. “You’re just a part of this cog that we have created here. You just stop thinking about all the extra things about hockey and just can kind of just go and play. And that has been such a refreshing part for me.”
There’s the camaraderie in the dressing room. The Panthers are a veteran team filled with players who understand what it takes to have a successful season end with an opportunity to hoist the Stanley Cup. It’s also a welcoming room. Everyone is comfortable being themselves.
“How they treat each other, how they take an every day look at it,” Schmidt said, “is something I coveted.”
And then there’s the chance, at 33 years old and in his 12th NHL season, to compete for his first Stanley Cup, an opportunity still on the horizon with Florida beginning its second-round playoff series with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday at Scotiabank Arena (8 p.m., ESPN). That was what he wanted all along, and it has a chance to come to fruition.
“South Florida has been great. I’ve really enjoyed my time here,” Schmidt said. “And so I think when you add all those things up, it makes for a good year and a memorable one. Hopefully it will continue to be more memorable as we go on.”
He has helped make it memorable. He played a career-high 80 games in the regular season, putting up 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) and spending significant time on Florida’s second power play unit. And then there was his efforts in the Lightning series that helped propel them to the first-round win.
“He fit right in,” Maurice said.
But his impact can be felt just as much, if not more, off the ice. He’s one of the more vocal guys in the dressing room. It’s hard to miss him. He knows how to lighten the mood and keep the energy light.
“He is an easy-going guy who talks too much sometimes, but I like that,” defenseman Dmitry Kulikov said. “Sometimes you are a little tired in the morning, you come in the morning, and you hear that guy’s voice and it brings a smile to your face.’’
He found his love for the game again.
“I feel great,” Schmidt said. “My body feels great. Now it feels like, ‘Hey, I can do this for 10 years. Why not?’ But it really is.”
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