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Nate Schmidt awarded two year, $4.45 million contract in arbitration

By Ian Oland (@ianoland) on August 5, 2017 | 0 Comment

Thursday, Nate Schmidt and the Vegas Golden Knights went to arbitration to determine the restricted-free agent defenseman’s next contract. Vegas was hoping for a two-year deal worth $950,000 in the first year and $1 million in the second year while Schmidt countered with a one-year contract worth $2.75 million.

On Saturday, an arbitrator ruled heavily in favor of Schmidt.

Schmidt was awarded a two-year, $4.45 million deal which will pay him an average salary of $2.225 million per season. That’s a raise of $1.413 million over last season.

The Golden Knights now must decide if they will accept the ruling and pay Schmidt the awarded amount — which is most likely — or walk away from the deal and allow Schmidt to become an unrestricted free agent.

Schmidt was selected by the Golden Knights in the expansion draft after being left unprotected by the Washington Capitals. In terms of possession, Schmidt was one of the best defensemen in the league last season while playing on the third pairing with Brooks Orpik. The Capitals hoped Schmidt would slot into the team’s top four next season.