Panthers acquire Akira Schmid from Golden Knights
The Florida Panthers have added some depth to their crease, making a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Panthers acquired goaltender Akira Schmid from the Golden Knights, in exchange for a 2028 third-round pick. Schmid, 26, posted a 16-10-6 record with Vegas last season, appearing in 34 games, including two shutouts.
With Carter Hart and Adin Hill signed for next season, the Golden Knights had some depth to deal. Hill is certainly still a trade candidate, as the Golden Knights continue to look for ways to create cap space.
Akira Schmid, acquired by FLA, is a goalie pic.twitter.com/xE7lZIt04w
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) June 30, 2026
The Panthers have been linked to just about every goaltender, including Connor Hellebuyck, Jordan Binnington, and Jacob Markstrom, as it appears Sergei Bobrovsky is going to hit the open market at noon on Wednesday.
Panthers general manager Bill Zito released a statement after the trade, commenting on acquiring Schmid. “Akira is a talented and athletic goaltender who has shown poise in high-pressure moments,” said Zito. “We are excited to welcome him to our organization.”
The 6-foot-5, 190-pound native of Bern, Switzerland has competed in 82 career NHL games, logging a 32-28-10 record and three shutouts between five seasons with Vegas (2024-25 to 2025-26) and the New Jersey Devils (2021-22 to 2023-24).
In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Schmid has appeared in 10 games recording a cumulative 4-4 record, .924 save percentage, 2.26 goals against average and two shutouts, the second-highest save percentage and fourth-lowest goals against average among goaltenders with at least 10 playoff appearances since 2022-23. His two playoff shutouts both came with the Devils in Round 1 vs. the New York Rangers, where he became the fifth rookie goalie in NHL history to post a shutout in a Game 7, and the 10th rookie netminder to post multiple shutouts in the same playoff series.
