Nate Schmidt is one of the most underrated Original Misfits ever. He scored 21 goals and 76 assists in three seasons with the Golden Knights, making him one of the quintessential pieces of the early Stanley Cup playoff runs.
Now? He has a new lease on life, acting as a third-pair defenseman for the Florida Panthers. So far, he seems to be enjoying his new life in South Beach. This season, he scored five goals and 14 assists, with four coming on the power play.
Perhaps his best showing came in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. How did the Golden Misfit do in the first game? Well, he got two assists, setting up Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand for nice goals.
While the Panthers didn't win Game 1, the 33-year-old brought a vintage Golden Knights-esque performance. It was enough to inspire hope that Florida has a puncher's chance in Game 2. Mind you, it's not easy to win in Edmonton.
What's more is that he was the best Misfit on the ice in Game 1. Tomas Nosek was busy practicing his golf swing in overtime, while Mattias Janmark was John Cena.
Overall, Schmidt has had an excellent postseason, scoring three goals and six assists. Couple that with a shooting percentage of 15.8% and it feels like Golden Knights fans are watching a classic showing from the defenseman.
That's more than enough to make up for a quiet performance in the Eastern Conference Final, too. Scoring no points in that round would've been on par with Vegas's performance in the second round. It's almost like being in a parallel universe of sorts.
Hopefully, that's not the case for the University of Minnesota alum here. He's proven himself to be a reliable two-way defenseman when called upon. People in Las Vegas have seen this before and they're hoping for another vintage performance from Schmidt.