Nate Schmidt Believes Florida Panthers Have What it Takes to Repeat as Cup Champs

Nate Schmidt chose to sign with the Florida Panthers because he thought they would give him the best opportunity to win a Stanley Cup. After spending a few weeks with them, he believes he was right.

After coming up short of a Stanley Cup multiple times, Nate Schmidt is ready to help the Florida Panthers in their quest for back-to-back titles.

The veteran defenseman watched the Panthers closely as they grit and grind style of play helped them to a Stanley Cup and he wanted to be a part of that. And ever since he joined the team for informal skates for the past few weeks, the mentality they have shown him is making him think he made the right choice.

“It sucks being so close,” Schmidt said. “You put so many things into it, being a conference finalist two other times as well, but what I love about the energy, about this group and myself is that you don’t see it in the room. It was something I was very interested to see when I first got down here. What the room was going to be like, how the guys are going to act.

“I’ve never seen a team win and be in the room the next year and I’ve been really impressed with how the guys have taken themselves and approached this year with the idea that ‘it was awesome and I want it again.’ Not, ‘That was awesome, peace.’ Enjoy myself, enjoy the rest of my career. That’s not the mentality I’ve seen so far over the last couple of weeks. So, talking about what makes you so excited to join a team, that’s what makes you excited. Because there are times when you talk to other players and when you get there you had guys that haven’[t done anything all summer that have been enjoying themselves. That’s not the way this group has been.”

Schmidt is all too familiar with how a Paul Maurice-coached team looks.

He spent a brief portion of the 2022-23 season with Maurice in Winnipeg before he resigned as head coach of the Jets in December.

Even in those few months, Maurice made an impression on Schmidt, and that played in his decision to sign with the Panthers after Winnipeg bought out the final season of his contract prior to the start of free agency this summer.

“I am pretty blessed to be here given how things have gone with Paul and myself,” Schmidt said. “I felt re-energized when I had him my first year in Winnipeg. Just his style, how he treats players and understanding what you need to do for him to get the most out of your group. It was a pretty quick decision on my part. Going through the free agency process, I had this place highlighted as somewhere I really wanted to go, and hopefully it would work out.

“They had other things going on the first couple of days, maybe like planning their parade, so I understand why it took a couple days. But, for me, it’s the idea that you hit the reset mode on your old career. I’ve taken this summer as a ‘go back to hardware’ mode. You’re working again, let’s have fun with this. You’re playing the game without all of the extracurriculars and all of the extra pressures you added onto yourself. And I mean, most players are their worst critics. Right? For me, I’m always tough on my own game and with a team that’s won, you’re just coming here to jump on board, get your feet moving and jump on the back of the bus and get ready for a hell of a run.”

Maurice believes Schmidt could be a lot more than just a passenger for the Panthers.

He has shown the ability to do so throughout his career, playing heavy minutes for some very good Jets, Vegas Golden Knights and Washington Capitals teams while providing a steady two-way presence on the back end.

“The starting point, for me is that energy [he brings,]” Maurice said. “Some of it, you won’t see, because it’s in the room. He’s a really funny, outgoing , gregarious player. He’s a very fit man, he likes to work hard, he likes to get on the ice, and from a cultural point of view, that could be very, very good for us.

“And then he’s got some game to him. We play a different game here in Florida than we played in Winnipeg style wise because of players and I think he will fit here the same way we thought Niko Mikkola would fit very well with what we do. Those two have a different style of game, I’m not comparing them, but I think he can skate, he can swing in, he’s got a good stick. He’s involved in the game and he’ll get up the ice, so he will be an energy-adder for our team.”

There is a serious opportunity for Schmidt to make an impact on this team with big-minute defensemen Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson both gone via free agency.

But he is not taking that opportunity lightly.

He doesn’t expect to be handed big minutes just because of his NHL resume. Even if it features 661 career games, 220 career points and an additional 76 career playoff games.

Schmidt believes he needs to earn it.

“I think the pieces are in place and this team has done a really good job of plugging guys in and understanding that they can play the system if you have the right guys,” Schmdit said. “I feel like I’m the right guy to get in and play that situation. There are a ton of minutes out there, but I’ve taken it as those minutes are going to be earned from guys that played on a Stanley Cup team. Those minutes have to be earned, they’re not just going to be given away because you’ve played 600-700 games, and that’s what alluded me in that sense.

“To say, OK, we need to go back in and fight for it again. That earns minutes, that earns the respect of players and from coaches to hopefully get into those higher-impact situations. That’s all I could ever ask for. That’s what’s getting me up tomorrow morning.”