Washington Capitals defenseman Nate Schmidt proved he’s at least a second pairing defenseman in 2016-17.
The Washington Capitals are likely going to lose defenseman Karl Alzner in free agency. Usually, when a team loses a reliable minutes eating blue liner like him, it’s hard to find a replacement. The Capitals, however, are extremely lucky and fortunate because they have one in Nate Schmidt.
Schmidt or “Smiley”, as fans know him, has been great for Washington both on and off the ice. He unselfishly accepted his extra defenseman role after the Kevin Shattenkirk trade. Schmidt filled in extremely well for Alzner in the playoffs. He did so well, Barry Trotz used seven defensemen, largely because he didn’t want to take him out of the lineup.
All stats, unless otherwise noted, are at even strength. Corsi and goals for numbers are adjusted. Stats courtesy of Hockey Analysis. Italics mark a career high.
2016-17 Stats
Boxcar
| Goals | Assists | Points | PP points | 5v5 points | Plus-minus | Penalty Minutes | Blocked Shots | Hits | TOI per game |
| 3 | 14 | 17 | 0 | 15 | 22 | 16 | 37 | 51 | 15:29 |
Rates
| 5v5 Goals/60 | 5v5 assists/60 | 5v5 primary assists/60 | 5v5 points/60 | 5v5 iCorsi/60 | PP goals/60 | PP assists/60 | PP points/60 |
| 0.21 | 0.77 | 0.21 | 0.98 | 9.44 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Possession
| CorsiFor% | Rel. CorsiFor60 | Rel. CorsiAgainst60 | Rel. CorsiFor% | GoalsFor% | Rel. GoalsFor60 | Rel. Goals Against60 | Rel. GoalsFor% |
| 53.3 | 1.48 | -3.19 | 2.1 | 66.7 | 0.47 | -0.18 | 6.2 |
The Good
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In many ways, Schmidt had his best season as a pro despite playing nearly 400 minutes less this season than last season. He set career highs in goals and points, while tying his career high in assists. Schmidt did this while paired primarily with Brooks Orpik on the third pairing. Among all Capitals defensemen with at least 300 minutes at even strength, he had the best goals for percentage.
Schmidt did well on the penalty kill in limited playing time, notching the third lowest goals against per 60 minutes rate on the team in just over 40 minutes. He also had the highest goals for percentage while shorthanded.
The Bad
Smiley’s discipline got worse this season, as he tied a career high with 16 penalty minutes (set during the 2015-16 season). This came despite playing 400 less minutes this season. Schmidt still isn’t making the kind of direct impact on scoring you’d like to see out of a top four defenseman, but his influence on possession justifies a top four role.
Future
Hopefully, the Capitals can keep Schmidt. Assuming Washington protects three defenseman, either number 88 or John Carlson will wind up being exposed. Losing Schmidt would be the slightly lesser of two evils there. Luckily, Philipp Grubauer will likely be too tempting for the Vegas Golden Knights to stay away from. Schmidt has earned more playing time, and hopefully this comes with the Capitals.
OTHER SEASON REVIEWS: Japers RinkRussian Machine Never Breaks,
Discussion
Nate Schmidt – happiest defenseman of all-time or happiest defenseman of all-time? Do you believe a 74 and 88 pairing is optimal?