NHL Rumors: 3 Teams Who Could Target Panthers’ Nate Schmidt…

The Florida Panthers have two big pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs), Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad, who can hit the market on July 1. However, they also have some other solid players who can become UFAs at the start of next month, including defenseman Nate Schmidt.

After being bought out by the Winnipeg Jets last off-season, Schmidt was very good for the Panthers this year, but especially during the playoffs. Because of this, he should be a popular target if he ends up testing the market this summer.

The Avalanche could be on the hunt for more defensive depth this off-season. This is especially the case if they end up losing pending UFA defenseman Ryan Lindgren. Thus, they could be a team to keep an eye on when it comes to Schmidt.

When looking at the Avalanche’s roster, Schmidt could be a great fit on their third pairing. Furthermore, with the Avalanche being contenders, they certainly could be interested in a defenseman with 99 career playoff games and a Stanley Cup on their resume, like Schmidt.

The Rangers could be another team to watch when it comes to Schmidt. When looking at their defensive group, it is clear that they could use some help on their left side. Thus, it would make sense for them to pursue Schmidt if he hits the market.

If the Rangers signed Schmidt, he would give them another solid veteran on their blueline to help mentor their younger players. In addition, he would be a clear upgrade to their bottom pairing, which is a need for a Rangers club looking to have a bounce-back season in 2025-26.

The Hurricanes could also be a good landing spot for Schmidt. The Hurricanes have two notable pending UFA defensemen in Brent Burns and Dmitry Orlov, so they could end up looking for new blueliners this off-season. On a short-term deal, Schmidt could make a lot of sense for them.

Yes, Hague is 6-foot-6, but he averages 17:33 a game on his career and has never cracked 20 points. While he uses his size and reach effectively to defend the rush, the former second-round pick is quite poor in his own end and is regularly critiqued for his lack of foot speed and for watching the puck too often.

Combine that with the fact his new contract would make him the second-highest-paid Flyers defender behind only Travis Sanheim, and you’re flirting with danger on defense.

After finishing the regular season with a six-game goal streak and 11-game points streak, including a five-point night on April 5, Geekie had a career-high 33 goals and 57 points. Only frequent linemate David Pastrnak had more than him in both categories on the Bruins, with 43 goals and 106 points.

That said, Geekie’s goal-scoring nearly doubled his previous career high of 17, set in 2023-24 in his first season with the Bruins. Before that, he played for the Seattle Kraken and Carolina Hurricanes.

His shooting percentage skyrocketed from 13.1 percent in 2023-24 to 22 percent this past season. That was the second-highest shooting percentage in the NHL among players who scored at least 30 goals, beating Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard Trophy winner Leon Draisaitl (21.7 shooting percentage for 52 goals) but trailing Tampa Bay Lightning pivot Brayden Point (22.2 percent for 42 goals).

Schmidt would provide the Hurricanes with another proven defenseman if signed, which is never a bad thing for a team to have.

The reality is, while the Golden Knights added $4.857 million in salary in the deal, Hague, a pending RFA, would have cost them much more.

Upon being traded, Hague signed a four-year, $22 million ($5.5 million AAV) deal with the Predators that would have otherwise made him the fourth-highest paid defenseman in Vegas behind Alex Pietrangelo, Shea Theodore, and Noah Hanifin.

Lauzon, who can play the same bottom-pairing role for less than half ($2 million) the cost, is a fine addition. Vegas effectively turned Hague into two roster players for the same price on the cap.

As for the Flyers, trading for Hague would have been a disaster.

The 6-foot-3, 208-pound Manitoban had one of the consistently harder shots in the league as well in 2024-25. His average shot speed of 63.34 miles per hour ranked in the 91st percentile, and he had 64 shots of at least 80 mph, including 10 of at least 90 mph, according to NHL Edge data. The season prior, only 35 of his shots were at least 80 mph.

Geekie played most of the season on a line with Pavel Zacha and Pastrnak, according to moneypuck.com. The season before, he didn’t play nearly as much with those two, spending the most minutes with James van Riemsdyk and Trent Frederic while averaging 15:25 of ice time. This past campaign was a career-high 16:55 average.

Considering Pastrnak is also signed through 2030-31 and Zacha is signed for the next two seasons, the trio could potentially stay together for the long term if that’s what new bench boss Marco Sturm and his coaching staff want. The line could help lead the squad offensively through a retooling phase after trading Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, Charlie Coyle and more near the NHL trade deadline and falling to second-last place in the Eastern Conference.

The Bruins now have about $16.4 million in projected cap space, according to PuckPedia. Cole Koepke, Parker Wotherspoon and Henri Jokiharju becomes UFAs on July 1 if they don’t re-sign by then, and John Beecher and Jakub Lauko were pending RFAs. That said, the Bruins are not expected to give Lauko a qualifying offer, which would make him a UFA, according to Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald.

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