Vegas Golden Knights continue to do a good job of tying up their key players to long-term deals. After giving their forward Alex Tuch a new contract, the team now also signed their defenseman Nate Schmidt to a six-year deal. Schmidt’s new contract, which runs through the 2024-25 season, is reportedly worth $35.7 million in total value or $5.95 million annually.
Golden Knights confirmed the news on Wednesday.
Schmidt’s new deal 👇
-Six-year extension through 2024-25
-Average annual value of $5.95 million
-Infinity more smiles coming to The Fortress 😀Not bad, Nate! pic.twitter.com/sIJlzY7W7P
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 25, 2018
“He is the kind of defenseman that every team in this league is looking for now,” – said Golden Knights’ general manager George McPhee said. “He is unique, excellent defensively and has become a shutdown defenseman for us playing against the other clubs’ top players. But he also brings a lot of pace to the game, and he brings offense.“
After getting selected by Vegas in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, Nate Schmidt went on to play the best season of his career and was one of the team’s key players on the road to Stanley Cup Finals. The 27-year-old led the Golden Knights in average playing time while managing five goals and 31 assists in the regular season.
“He means a lot,” – added coach Gerard Gallant. “He’s a top player for us. He’s done a great job playing defense for us last year. Obviously he got a real nice contract that he deserves, and we miss him a lot. So he’s a big player for our group, and we’re happy to have him for the long term.“
Although he signed a new deal, Nate Schmidt will have to wait for November 18th, before he can play again for his club. Schmidt was suspended by NHL in September for violating league’s performance-enhancing drug policy and will miss the first 20 games of the 2018-19 season.
