NHL EDGE stats: Markstrom, Schmid have sneaky upside with Panthers

NHL.com's fantasy staff continues to cover the latest trends and storylines in the League through the lens of NHL EDGE puck and player tracker stats. Today, we look at three underlying reasons the Florida Panthers’ new-look goalie tandem of Jacob Markstrom and Akira Schmid could have sneaky upside next season.

1. Markstrom’s past high-danger save prowess

The Panthers have made separate trades to acquire Markstrom from the New Jersey Devils and Schmid from the Vegas Golden Knights, meaning longtime starter Sergei Bobrovsky (potential unrestricted free agent) is unlikely to return to the team next season. Bobrovsky, who’s 37 years old, was 27-23-1 with four shutouts last season but had the worst save percentage of his NHL career (.877 in 52 games). Bobrovsky and Florida won the Stanley Cup in 2024 and 2025 but missed the 2026 postseason, ending a run of three straight Stanley Cup Final appearances (also reached championship round in 2023 but lost to Vegas).

Markstrom, who’s 36 years old, and Schmid, who’s 26, had high-danger save percentages below the NHL average last season  (.811), but each has had success in that category in the past. In 2023-24, Markstrom’s final season with the Calgary Flames, he ranked second in the entire NHL in high-danger save percentage (.857; behind Anthony Stolarz’s .861). During the 2024-25 season with the Devils, Markstrom had a high-danger save percentage (.811) better than the NHL average (.805). Markstrom has a .911 save percentage in 31 career playoff games for the Devils, Flames and Vancouver Canucks.

Schmid, in a small sample size during the 2024-25 season, ranked in the 88th percentile in high-danger save percentage for Vegas (.842 in five games). This season, Schmid was tied for 14th in midrange save percentage (.901) in a much bigger role for the Golden Knights. Schmid, who had a breakout performance for the Devils during their 2023 playoff run, ranked in the 95th percentile in 5-on-5 close save percentage that postseason. He also helped the Golden Knights win the Pacific Division this regular season; he was 16-10-6 in 34 games (29 starts) this regular season. Among the 51 goalies who played at least 30 games during this regular season, Schmid was tied for 11th in goals-against average (2.59) – much better than both Markstrom and Bobrovsky (each had 3.07 GAA).

2. Shutout potential

Schmid had two shutouts in a timeshare role for Vegas this season, sharing time with Carter Hart and Adin Hill and providing spot starts for coach Bruce Cassidy while each of his teammates dealt with injury. Although Schmid did not start any games under new Vegas coach John Tortorella as Hart emerged as the starter, he showed a flash of brilliance during the 2023 playoffs; Schmid was 4-4 with a .921 save percentage and two shutouts in nine games during that postseason, leading the Devils to a series win against the rival New York Rangers.

Markstrom only had one shutout for New Jersey last season but had four shutouts in 2024-25 (tied for seventh in NHL), leading the Devils to the postseason. Markstrom’s best season came in 2021-22, when he led the entire NHL in shutouts (nine) while playing for Calgary. During that season, Markstrom also ranked in the top 10 in 5-on-5 save percentage (.928; fifth), high-danger save percentage (.851; tied for ninth) and long-range save percentage (.980; tied for 10th).

Although Markstrom is coming off an underwhelming year as the Devils missed the playoffs, he showed signs of improvement; nine of Markstrom’s 15 quality starts (starts with greater than .900 save percentage) this season came from Jan. 1 to the end of the season.

3. Panthers’ potent supporting cast

Florida made a huge splash this offseason by trading for elite forward Brady Tkachuk, uniting him with his brother Matthew Tkachuk, and giving the Panthers arguably the best top-nine forward group in the NHL. The group includes center Aleksander Barkov, who is expected back after missing all of last season with a knee injury, and veteran Brad Marchand, who won the Stanley Cup with Florida in 2025 after being acquired prior to that year’s NHL Trade Deadline. Other high-scoring forwards on the Panthers include Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell and Sam Bennett, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the 2025 postseason.

In addition to having reliable defensemen Aaron Ekblad, Seth Jones and Gustav Forsling, the Panthers brought back Radko Gudas in a separate trade with the Anaheim Ducks; Gudas was a part of the Panthers’ 2023 Cup Final run. The Panthers, despite missing the playoffs in 2026, ranked highly in offensive zone time percentage (42.2; fifth) and 5-on-5 shot attempts percentage (51.9; ninth) this regular season. During their back-to-back championship seasons, Florida ranked second in 5-on-5 SAT percentage (55.1 in 2024-25; 55.4 in 2023-24).

Schmid had a better goal differential (plus-12) than Markstrom (minus-19) this season, but Markstrom is the far more-established starter. Together, with plenty of goal support if the Panthers’ top skaters stay healthy, Markstrom and Schmid could form a strong enough tandem to lead Florida on another deep playoff run. It’s worth noting two of the past five Stanley Cup champions (Carolina Hurricanes this year; Colorado Avalanche in 2022) had both members of their goalie tandem contribute at crucial points during their championship run.

EDGE stats: Tkachuk trade reopens Panthers’ Stanley Cup window