As the Florida Panthers begin their California road trip, Akira Schmid will make his Panthers debut against the San Jose Sharks.
Although he may have posted a shutout against the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, Jacob Markstrom will have the night off against the San Jose Sharks.
Manning the crease for coach Paul Maurice will be Akira Schmid, making his Florida Panthers debut.
Florida acquired Schmid in an off-season trade, sending a third-round draft pick in 2028 for the 26-year-old goaltender. Schmid was a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, but the Panthers and Schmid reached a resolution before then, agreeing to a two-year, $2 million AAV contract.
Schmid came to Florida as the backup goaltender, but because of Markstrom's age and uncertainty about his play over the last two seasons, Schmid is expected to play quite a bit, highlighted by his start tonight against the Sharks.
"We want to get him in," said Maurice. "It's 84 games. We don't want to have a goaltender play a game and then sit two weeks before he gets in the next one. That was the plan from the start, get Akira in one as quick as we could."
The Panthers play again this weekend, on Sunday night, against the Anaheim Ducks. Markstrom is expected to return to the crease for that game.
In the meantime, Schmid will look to start his Panthers tenure on the right note. Last year, the 6-foot-5 Swiss netminder played in a career-high 34 games, posting an .893 save percentage and a 2.59 goals-against average.
In his career, Schmid has recorded an .898 SP and a 2.66 GAA across 82 games.
This Sharks lineup is potent, featuring superstar Macklin Celebrini, as well as top five picks in Will Smith, Michael Misa, and Ivar Stenberg.
“He’s unreal player already," Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said of recently named Sharks captain Celebrini. "He hasn't been in the league for a long time, but he's already one of the best. He's a complete player. He plays both in both ends and puts up a lot of points.”
It's a tough test for Schmid, but a good question to answer early.
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