Former Canucks defenceman listed as a buyout candidate

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Cooper Godin
June 17, 2024 (11:30)

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The NHL's buyout window is set to open as early as Thursday or as late as Wednesday, June 26th, but there are several names to keep an eye on.

In a recent article on The Athletic, Thomas Drance and Harman Dayal looked at 12 different players around the National Hockey League that could be candidates for a buyout this summer and among those mentioned was former Vancouver Canucks defenceman Nate Schmidt, who currently plays for the Winnipeg Jets.

Schmidt has one year remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $5.95 million and a potential buyout would last two years for the Winnipeg Jets. In the first year, Schmidt's cap hit would be $2.716 million, a savings of $3.233 million. Meanwhile in the second year, 2025-26, Schmidt would have a cap hit of $1.616 million.

"The Jets need to rebuild their blue line and are hampered by a couple of bloated contracts including that of Nate Schmidt, who has one year left at $5.95 million. Schmidt can still provide value as a strong third-pair contributor, but that's nowhere close to being commensurate with his cap hit." Drance & Dayal said.

They added, "Winnipeg would gain $3.23 million of cap space this summer by buying Schmidt out at the cost of a digestible $1.61 million penalty in 2025-26. That's pretty favorable, especially because Wheeler's buyout penalty will be off the books by 2025-26 when a possible Schmidt buyout would be a minor hindrance."

Schmidt, 32, spent the 2020-21 season with the Vancouver Canucks, appearing in 54 games for them, before moving on to the Winnipeg Jets as an unrestricted free agent. In 63 games this past season, the St. Cloud, Minnesota native had 14 points (two goals, 12 assists), 16 penalty minutes and was a plus-ten. He added one goal in three games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

If Nate Schmidt does get his contract bought out, he could be an interesting option for Patrik Allvin and the Canucks. Vancouver have a few defencemen that may hit the free agent market July 1st including Ian Cole, Tyler Myers and Nikita Zadorov. To fill some of those holes, even in a third pairing role, Schmidt could be a good option.

If Schmidt is bought out, should the Canucks try to sign him as a free agent? Let us know your thoughts in the poll below.

Source: The Athletic
NHL buyout watch 2024: 12 players to monitor ahead of the offseason window