Waived: [WPG] D Nate Schmidt placed on waivers by the Jets for the purpose of buyout

[HellebuyckOurSaviour]

I could see Utah going out and paying him 2yr at 2.9m a year

 

[kanucks25]

What happened to him? From top guy in Vegas to being bought out.

He was acquired by Vancouver in the height of our tire fire and it broke him like we broke a lot of other players during Jim Benning's reign of terror.

 

[TheNumber4]

It was a poor joke due to his previous lengthy suspension for performance enhancing drugs

Didn’t realize that happened? That happened?

 

[CanadienShark]

I used to love Schmidt on the Caps. Sad to see him fall like this.

 

[BWJM]

Didn’t realize that happened? That happened?

"Prior to the 2018–19 season, Schmidt was suspended 20 games for violating the NHL's performance-enhancing drug use policy"

Some would say he was never the same haha

 

[jetsforever]

Seems like a super cool guy, really fun interviews and decent play but he was just way overpaid

 

[Hank Chinaski]

Still scratching my head at how VAN wrangled a 2022 third rounder out of what should have been a pure cap dump deal.

Chalk up a rare Jim Benning W.

 

[CanMerc]

Still scratching my head at how VAN wrangled a 2022 third rounder out of what should have been a pure cap dump deal.

Chalk up a rare Jim Benning W.

Was a bad acquisition from day 1 for WPG, but Chevy needs an overpayed, unneeded player on the team…now Schmidt is gone, I’m expecting a Monahan extension announcement.

 

[Hank Chinaski]

All the best to Schmidt, seemed like a great guy and wasn’t a terrible defenseman for the most part. Just a very, very overpaid one on the downswing of his career.

 

[Calad]

Would be happy to see Drury sign him for cheap

 

[Eyeseeing]

The writing was on the wall last season.
He was out of the line up a lot.
By all accounts a really nice person.
Good luck Nate !!!

 

[SSCBLUEJET]

Well thank the Mother Ship he's gone.

 

[Matty Sundin]

Guy is a total stud and should have gms waiting in line for him like the Johns for hookers at the red light district.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

I see him going back to Vegas on a team friendly deal. Or he goes to Florida.

 

[Pablo El Perro]

he is still a good bottom pair defensemen just can't afford him at that cap hit

I could see him pulling an OEL next year.

 

[StreetHawk]

I could see Utah going out and paying him 2yr at 2.9m a year

then it kind of makes no sense that Utah/Win didn't do a deal as the Jets dead cap for him this season is $2.7 mill, so doing retention to get to $3 mill dead this season made more sense (along with then dropping next year's dead cap down to $0) plus for Utah, the salary would be lower as he's due $4.85 mill this year, so half is $2.425 mill.

Pure money POV, Schmidt needs a deal at $1.6 mill to come out even this season. Question is whether he gets that or not as it does seem like Win was able to trade him for above retention amount. Maybe he does come in around that $1.6 mill amount.

 

[Aphid]

I used to love Schmidt on the Caps. Sad to see him fall like this.

He hasn't really fallen. He's just gotten older like every player does.

He will land somewhere and the fans of that team will be mostly happy with him. Seems like a great guy and he is still a more than capable defenceman. I would have wanted want him to stay with the Jets but I guess the cap hit is, sadly, too high.

 

[PROUD PAPA]

I used to love Schmidt on the Caps. Sad to see him fall like this.

He was highly regarded at one point, so you weren't alone.

 

[David71]

bring him back to vancouver to play 3rd pairing. they need another puckmover. hahah

 

[Dr Amazing]

Only 1 year left.

 

[biturbo19]

Guess that answers the question of whether they could find a taker at max retention for the year. Would've seemed like the better outcome for the Jets. But even at ~$3M i guess there still wasn't a taker. Or he used his trade protection to nix anyway.

Weird career he's had. Wonder where he ends up next, on a minimum sort of deal. Gets to pick his spot, which isn't really something he's had a chance to fully do for a long time now.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Flames probably pick him up. They are looking for another top 4 D

 

[Barnaby]

I wouldn’t mind him as a 6/7 for NYR if the price is right. He could be a good depth signing, especially on a better club.

 

[Bounces R Way]

Dude lost his mojo once they took away his special ass pricks

His play definitely did do a major nose dive after that. He was a terrific top 4 dman with Vegas for a couple years.

Wonder how much can be attributed to the PEDs and how much is the mental side of being caught, playing in Canada, big contract etc and how much is just regular aging.

 

[olli]

His play definitely did do a major nose dive after that. He was a terrific top 4 dman with Vegas for a couple years.

Wonder how much can be attributed to the PEDs and how much is the mental side of being caught, playing in Canada, big contract etc and how much is just regular aging.

I know this is a common excuse but it sounds like he was just tested positive for trace amounts of a banned substance that was likely in a supplement he took:



https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4808271



As someone who competes in powerlifting I have taken pre-workout that contained a stimulant that was on wada’s banned list without knowing at the time.



In Schmidt’s case he was still a very good defensemen for them after he was caught. On top of that I don’t see how steroids would help a player that much. As long as you have a solid build and are in good enough shape to skate well and play a lot of minutes then the cast majority of improving your game comes down to what you do at the rink. Look at most hockey players physiques, most of them have pretty big legs but not many of them look like they bench much more than 2 plates.