Golden Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt files for arbitration
Golden Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt filed for arbitration, one of 30 NHL restricted free agents to file before Wednesday’s deadline.
Schmidt, who rejected the team’s qualifying offer, was selected from Washington in the expansion draft. The 25-year-old earned $875,000 with the Capitals last year.
The Knights and Schmidt can negotiate a contract before salary arbitration hearings take place July 20 to Aug. 4 in Toronto.
Schmidt is expected to play major minutes on the blue line for the Golden Knights thanks to his skating and puck-moving abilities.
The 6-foot-1-inch, 194-pounder had 17 points (3 goals, 14 assists) in 60 games for the Capitals last season and stepped into a top-four role in the playoffs when Karl Alzner missed six games with a broken hand.
Knights general manager George McPhee signed Schmidt as an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota in April 2013 when he was the GM in Washington.
Schmidt is the only one of the Knights’ five restricted free agents to file for arbitration.
Center Oscar Lindberg signed a two-year, $3.4 million contract with the Knights on Tuesday. The team previously made qualifying offers to left wings Teemu Pulkkinen and Brendan Leipsic and defenseman Griffin Reinhart.
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Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.
