Last postseason, he found himself seated in the Winnipeg Jets' press box as a healthy scratch more often than not.

This year, he's leading all defencemen in scoring in the Stanley Cup Final and has as many points as superstar Connor McDavid through the first three games of the final.

It is safe to say that veteran blueliner Nate Schmidt has found a comfortable home in Florida. He quarterbacks the second power play unit and has redeveloped a strong bond with his now two-time head coach Paul Maurice. 

And more importantly, he's looking to buck an ugly trend.

Breaking into the league with the Washington Capitals, the highly-offensive Schmidt spent four seasons skating alongside Alex Ovechkin and Co., before being left unprotected at the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, where the Vegas Golden Knights selected him from the Capitals' roster.

It just so happened that Washington won the Stanley Cup the very next season, without Schmidt.

He spent the next three years in Vegas, before joining Vancouver for one season. He was dealt to Winnipeg in the offseason in 2021, to which he played out most of his contract, before having the Jets buy him out last offseason.

But during his time in Winnipeg, it was another group of his former teammates that won the Cup, as Vegas celebrated with Stanley in the spring of 2023.

This time around, he is hoping for a different result: to be a part of the winning roster.

He has five assists in three Cup Final outings, including two multi-point efforts, while holding down important roles on the Panthers' special teams. 

A long-lasting relationship with Coach Maurice also helps his case - something he didn't seem to have under the coaching of Rick Bowness in Winnipeg. Colin Miller and Logan Stanley earned considerable ice time over Schmidt in 2023-24 - both of which were factors leading to his dead cap hit this past season. 

Florida own a 2-1 series lead over Edmonton in the Stanley Cup Final, to which Game 4 is set to be played on Thursday evening.