Just under an hour after it was revealed that Vegas didn’t select Philipp Grubauer, news broke that it was indeed Nate Schmidt as the Capitals player heading to Vegas to join the roster of the NHL’s newest franchise. 

Hearing that smooth-skating D Nate Schmidt is Vegas-bound…

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 21, 2017

Isabelle Khurshudyan reported that there was a source indicating that the Capitals were in a discussion for a trade with the Golden Knights that would’ve saved Schmidt, but the price was too high.

According to a source, Caps were in discussion with VGK on a trade that would’ve saved Schmidt. Asking price too high.

— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) June 21, 2017

The happiest player on the Capitals with the brightest smile finished his Caps career having played in 200 games with eight goals, 35 assists, and 43 points. In the 2017 playoffs, he had a goal and three assists.

Thank you to the @Capitals, my teammates, and to everyone that has given me an incredible amount of support. I really appreciate it!

— Nate Schmidt (@nateschmidt29) June 22, 2017

By Michael Marzzacco