Ex-Knight Nate Schmidt receives warm welcome in Las Vegas return

It took only until warmups for Nate Schmidt to remind T-Mobile Arena he’s still Nate Schmidt.

The onetime Golden Misfit, now playing for the Winnipeg Jets, made time before Sunday’s matchup to throw pucks to the crowd by the visiting bench. And, being the gregarious defenseman that he is, Schmidt couldn’t stop there. He skated all the way across the Jets’ zone to throw more pucks into the stands before heading back into his locker room.

It was a fitting Las Vegas return. Schmidt made numerous fans in his three seasons with the Golden Knights because of his huge personality, wide smile and strong play from the blue line.

He made it clear he’s still the same person in his first visit to T-Mobile Arena since being traded Oct. 12, 2020. He and the Jets also walked away with a 5-4 overtime win.

“I spent some good years here and had a lot of fun,” Schmidt said. “This city means a lot to me.”

Schmidt admitted he had some jitters before the game. He was once an undrafted find by Knights president of hockey operations George McPhee in Washington. McPhee picked him up from the Capitals in the 2017 expansion draft and he proved to be a perfect fit for Las Vegas.

Schmidt’s infectious energy and sense of humor made it easy for fans to gravitate towards him. His game also suited the Knights’ transition-heavy attack because he could skate the puck out of his own zone or make a sharp first pass to get a rush started.

He had 21 goals and 76 assists in 196 games his three seasons as a Knight after scoring 43 points the first four years of his career. He still ranks eighth in assists and points in Knights history, and second among defensemen in both categories behind Shea Theodore.

Schmidt was often tasked with shutting down the opponent’s best forwards and led the team in ice time its first two seasons.

“Our first year, everything that we went through, some of those things … they’re always a part of you,” Schmidt said.

The Knights made the decision to move on before their fourth season to clear enough salary-cap space to add free-agent defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. Schmidt signed a contract extension in 2018 while serving a 20-game suspension for violating the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program that carries a $5.95 million hit through 2024-25.

Vancouver acquired him for a 2022 third-round pick, and Schmidt was moved again this past offseason to Winnipeg. He’s off to a strong start with 17 points in 30 games, tied for the sixth-most on the team. Coach Dave Lowry also said Schmidt “can be a good mentor” for his 23-year-old partner Logan Stanley.

The pandemic and the NHL schedule kept Schmidt from returning to T-Mobile Arena for 447 days after being traded by the Knights. The local fans made sure to show their appreciation Sunday. Schmidt saw signs for him and his jersey in the crowd. He and ex-Knights center Paul Stastny also received a standing ovation after a video tribute during the first media timeout.

The scoreboard showed Schmidt smiling ear to ear and waving to the crowd once the video was over. The grin was still on his face when he sat down for a postgame news conference. And, when a Jets spokesperson tried to end it so Schmidt could mingle, he insisted on staying and answering an extra question.

Nate Schmidt is still Nate Schmidt.

“It was a fun game,” Schmidt said. “Really good reception. I’m happy that we were on the good side of things.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.