Projecting Panthers goalie Akira Schmid's next contract ahead of arbitration

Even though NHL free agency began two weeks ago, there are still plenty of available players looking for new deals, including several high-profile restricted free agents like Jason Robertson and Trevor Zegras, as well as recently acquired Florida Panthers netminder Akira Schmid.

After losing both Sergei Bobrovsky and Daniil Tarasov in free agency, the Panthers revamped their goaltending situation by trading for Jacob Markström from the New Jersey Devils and then by bringing in Schmid from the Vegas Golden Knights.

At the moment, Markström has two years left on his current $6 million deal, while Schmid is seeking a raise from his previous $850k salary.

Interestingly, Florida’s two new goalies were almost teammates in New Jersey, since Markström arrived just as Schmid departed for the Golden Knights as a free agent. In Vegas, he signed a two-year deal worth $1.75 million.

Panthers will need to pay Schmid more than the league minimum

Last year, the Panthers paid Bobrovsky $10 million and his partner Tarasov $1.05 million. As of today, CapWages projects that Florida has $2,236,786 million in cap space.

Whether or not Schmid and the Panthers make it to his arbitration date of August 1, it will be interesting to see at what figure the two sides agree upon.

Previously, with New Jersey, Schmid signed a three-year contract worth $2.75 million, paying the now-26-year-old from Bern, Switzerland, $850,833 annually. Outside of a magical playoff run in 2022-23, Schmid played only 43 games over three seasons, going 14-18-3 with a .899 SV% and 2.90 GAA.

During his first campaign in Vegas, he didn’t play much in 2024-25, skating in only five games (2-0-1), before seeing action in a career-high 34 games last year, taking over for Adin Hill, but being replaced by Cart Hart. Last year, with the Pacific Division championships, Schmid went 16-10-6 with a 2.59 GAA and .893 SV%.

Overall, his NHL totals are 32-28-10 in 82 games, with a .898 SV% and 2.66 GAA. In the AHL, where he’s played with the Utica Comets and Henderson Silver Knights, he’s 51-41-17 with a .899 SV% and 2.96 GAA.

Now, Schmid didn’t take the league by storm last season, but for the first time, he played more than 19 games in a single campaign and was a key player for the Golden Knights down the stretch.

Considering that Markström hasn’t played more than 49 games in the past three seasons and he’s 36 with a history of injuries, there’s a chance that Schmid is called upon to play at least 30-35 games, like Tarasov did last year.

When the Panthers brought in Tarasov last year, he played only 65 games and never skated in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Now, with Schmid in the lineup, they have someone with nearly 100 starts and playoff experience.

Considering the amount of cap space left, Florida has a chance to ink Schmid to a respectable deal over two or three seasons valued at around $1.2 to $1.5 million, with hopes that he forms a dynamic duo with Markström behind a healthy Panthers lineup.

Obviously, Bill Zito brought Schmid in for a reason and knew he was an RFA, which means they have a plan for their young goalie, one that hopefully avoids going to arbitration.

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