Former Jet Schmidt having fun in Utah after Cup win with Florida

It’s hard to wipe the smile of Nate Schmidt’s face at the worst of times. The man just exudes positivity. And that was certainly the case on Sunday as the 34-year-old returned to Winnipeg for the first time as a Stanley Cup champion, now a member of the upstart Utah Mammoth.

“A heck of a ride,” is how the popular former Jets defenceman described his past few months in a chat with the Free Press. “And a whole heap of fun.”

Schmidt spent three full seasons in Winnipeg — “the most games I’ve played anywhere” — then was bought out of the fourth and final year of his deal following the 2023-24 season. The Minnesota product didn’t take it personally, recognizing his game was no longer up to the level of a player earning US$5.95 million on a Jets team with salary cap concerns.

“I got it. I loved it there, but stuff had to happen. I have a lot of respect for them,” said Schmidt.

Facing an uncertain hockey future, Schmidt received a lifeline in the form of a call from former Jets coach Paul Maurice whose Florida Panthers, fresh off winning the Stanley Cup, were offering him a one-year “prove yourself” contract.

Boy, did he ever. Schmidt became a regular on the club, putting up 19 points (5G, 14A) in 80 regular-season games and another 12 (3G, 9A) in 23 playoff games as the Panthers made it back-to-back championships.

Schmidt more than earned his league-minimum US$800,000 salary, much of which was quite literally eaten away by a fun superstition he started during their playoff run last spring — team outings to Dairy Queen.

“Every single time I had to pay,” Schmidt said with a laugh. “But I told the guys if this makes us win, I don’t care what it costs. I think we went 8-1 in games after going to Dairy Queen.”

Fittingly, Schmidt ate a Blizzard out of the trophy this past summer when he got to spend the day with it surrounded by family and friends in St. Cloud.

“We just kind of revelled in it. I wanted to share it as much as possible,” said Schmidt, whose only regret was how quickly the special day flew by.

“It was like 11:30 p.m and they were putting it in the back of the car. I was thinking of trying to steal it back.”

The party didn’t end there, with Schmidt and his wife welcoming their first daughter in July, adding to the family which also includes a two-year-old son.

“The Schmidt household was a little bit of a chaos corner this summer,” he said.

“You never know how things are going to work. You get bought out, you move on. You never know.”

“You never know how things are going to work. You get bought out, you move on. You never know. You go to a team that just won, what’s the mentality going to be?”

He credited Maurice with being up front with him right off the hop about what expectations were — and holding him to a high standard.

“That was really a comfort factor for me,” said Schmidt.

“Here’s the thing: guys want to play there. They have a recipe. They’ve shown this recipe for resuscitating defencemen over the last few years. They’ve shown what they can do. The way the system is set up, they don’t ask you to do a ton. They just dumb it way down for you. It allows you just to go out and play like you were a kid again.”

Unfortunately for Schmidt, he was only in Florida for a good time, not a long time. His strong play meant a new contract was needed — along with a well-deserved bump in pay — but Florida had no room against the cap to cut the cheque considering they had to re-sign pending free agents Aaron Ekblad, Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand.

When one door closes, another opens. This time, it was the Mammoth who came calling, wanting to add a seasoned defender to a team that includes plenty of talented young skaters.

“(Leaving Florida) was bittersweet. But it’s so fun now to be on a team with so much enthusiasm and youth,” said Schmidt, who signed a three-year deal with Utah which pays him US$3.5 million per year.

“(Leaving Florida) was bittersweet. But it’s so fun now to be on a team with so much enthusiasm and youth.”

“These guys are gaining such a foothold in the league. I’m more vocal now than I’ve ever been in my career, trying to be the guy that helped me along the way. Now it’s my turn to do that.”

The early returns couldn’t be better. Utah is off to a sizzling 8-2-0 start which includes a 3-2 victory over the Jets on Sunday — their seventh straight.

“It’s fun to see these young guys have so much confidence. You need to have that little bit of swagger,” said Schmidt, who has two assists through 10 games with the Mammoth.

He’s also enjoying the chance to help sell the game to a new hockey market in Salt Lake City, not unlike what he did as a member of the expansion Vegas Golden Knights in 2017-18.

“He has a confidence and assertiveness of knowing what it takes to win,” said Mammoth coach Andre Tourigny. “His personality, his communication, his energy and everything, plus his experience in the game helps a lot with a young group like ours.”

Schmidt still keeps tabs on the Jets and hopes some of his friends on the club will one day get to experience the type of Stanley Cup celebration he’s still buzzing about.

“They’ve added some good pieces. There’s a lot to love. We’ll see what happens,” he said.

Jets coach Scott Arniel was quick to reach out to Schmidt after watching him raise the Cup in late June.

“I was real happy for him. He was great for us here and great for me when I first came in (as an associate coach) and coached him,” said Arniel.

“He was great for us here and great for me when I first came in (as an associate coach) and coached him.”

“He helped a lot of our young players. To see those guys win is always nice. And to see him get rewarded with a contract (with Utah), that’s great.”

In classic Schmidt fashion, he couldn’t help but get in a dig at Jets forward Nino Niederreiter, one of his closest buddies. They briefly crossed paths on Sunday afternoon during pre-game soccer warmups in the bowels of Canada Life Centre, then again on the ice a couple hours later.

“I made sure to flip Nino the bird (during soccer). That menace. Then, during the game, he punched me in the face during a scrum. That’s the reason you’re a menace,” said Schmidt.

“I’d like to consider him and my two-and-a-half-year-old basically the same person.”

No, there’s never a dull moment when Schmidt is involved, that’s for sure.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg