Akira Schmid
New Team: Vegas Golden Knights
If you asked the typical New Jersey Devils fan what happened to Alexander Holtz this offseason, just about everyone knows he was sent to the Vegas Golden Knights for Paul Cotter and a draft pick. Holtz is a former seventh-overall pick who never lived up to the billing. Most would say it wasn’t his fault. He wasn’t utlized correctly, but things still should have gone better.
As a simple throw in, the Devils added Akira Schmid. That seems insane, as Schmid went into last season as the heir apparent and the NHL backup to Vitek Vanecek. He was the great hope for this franchise after he dispatched the New York Rangers in impressive fashion in the playoffs.
Yet, just one year later, he’s with a different franchise. Not only is he now with the Vegas Golden Knights, but he wasn’t even the headline of the trade. That was Holtz.
Of course, a lot has happened that brought us here. Schmid was completely awful last season. There is word he hated how the contract negotiations went last offseason after the playoff performance. However, the Devils still had another year on his entry-level deal. Why would they take the risk? Schmid showed why they shouldn’t take the risk. He was awful last season, and now he’s on the other side of the country.