Akira Schmid has signed a two-year contract with the Vegas Golden Knights. The deal has a cap hit of $875,ooo in both seasons.
Golden Knights Trade And Sign Schmid
The Golden Knights acquired Schmid in a trade with the New Jersey Devils last week. Schmid was just an additional piece in the trade, the Golden Knights also acquired forward Alexander Holtz.
Schmid went 5-9-1 with the Devils last seasonwith a 3.15 goals-against-average and a .895 save percentage. The Swedish-born goalie was selected in the fifth round, 136th overall of the 2018 NHL Draft.
Schmid did help lead the Devils to a first-round victory against the New York Rangers two years ago. However, Schmid was not able to replicate that success this year. Schmid was caught up in a goaltender logjam with the Devils. The Devils traded for Jake Allen at the trade deadline and also acquired Jacob Markstrom.
There was seemingly no room for Schmid on the Devils.
Schmid’s Role In Vegas
Schmid will likely compete for the backup goalie position behind starter Adin Hill. The Golden Knights also brought in Ilya Samsonov, who had a late-season surge with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season and became their starter for the playoffs.
What is interesting is that Schmid’s contract is a two-year deal and is a one-way contract. This means he will get paid an NHL salary even if he is sent to the minors. Typically, teams who do this try to avoid sending that player to the minor leagues. However, it is not unheard of and does happen.
It seems like Schmid and Samsonov will be competing for the backup spot in training camp and the preseason. Whoever does not get the backup spot will mostly like became the starting goalie for the Golden Knight’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Henderson Silver Nights.
