Akira Schmid, goaltender acquired for Paul Cotter
The other piece to the Paul Cotter deal is none other than Akira Schmid, who's a restricted free agent this offseason. He has arbitration rights that grant him negotiating power for his next contract. The Swiss goaltender is also 24 years old, making him three years younger than Logan Thompson.
In 2023-24, Schmid was 5-9-1 with a GAA of 3.15 and a save percentage of .895 in 19 games. Although he had a down year from his previous campaign (9-5-2 with a GAA of 2.13 and a save percentage of .922 in 18 games), he's still a young No. 3 goaltender for Vegas behind Adin Hill.
The Vegas Golden Knights acquired a big goaltender in the Cotter trade, with Akira Schmid standing at 6'5". He still needs to develop his game and use his frame more. That starts with controlling his rebounds better and having more fluid movements.
However, this could also make Vegas's goaltender room strong again, along with being younger. With Jacob Markstrom heading to New Jersey, it made sense to spare another team a goaltender. That happened to be the Swiss goalie, who's heading to Las Vegas to play at T-Mobile Arena.