Just because the Vegas Golden Knights ended the Stanley Cup dreams of the Florida Panthers in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, it doesn’t mean the two clubs can’t do business with one another.
While the Panthers appear on the verge of losing goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to free agency after the two sides have come to an apparent contract stalemate, Panthers general manager Bill Zito is once again continuing his proactive approach to getting the club back into contention after an injury-decimated 2025-26 NHL season saw them miss the playoffs.
The Florida Panthers Have Acquired The Rights Of Goaltender Akira Schmid From The Vegas Golden Knights
Late on Monday evening, it was announced that the Panthers had acquired the signing rights to pending restricted free agent goaltender Akira Schmid from the Vegas Golden Knights.
In return, they sent a third-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft to Vegas.
The Panthers confirmed the trade on social media, writing the following update on X, formerly known as Twitter:
“We have acquired goaltender Akira Schmid from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for our third-round selection in the 2028 NHL Draft.”
Over the last two seasons, Schmid made 39 appearances in net for the Golden Knights, posting a 2.45 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage. The 26-year-old saw the heaviest workload of his NHL career in 2025-26, playing in 34 contests while earning a pair of shutout victories.
A native of Bern, Switzerland, Schmid entered the NHL after being selected 136th overall in the 2018 Draft by the New Jersey Devils, later signing a three-year entry-level deal with the organization. He broke into the league in December 2021 and went on to gain postseason experience in 2023, when he helped the Devils knock off the rival New York Rangers in a seven-game Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series.
Two years later, in 2024, New Jersey moved him along with Alexander Holtz to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Paul Cotter and a 2025 third-round selection.
Across his NHL tenure with both the Devils and Golden Knights, Schmid has compiled a 32-28-10 record, a 2.66 goals-against average, a .898 save percentage, and three shutouts.
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