Agent: Schmidt, Golden Knights in 'same range' on potential deal

Nate Schmidt's agent says his client and the Vegas Golden Knights aren't too far apart in contract negotiations.

"We're in the same range," Matt Keator told Steve Carp of the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Monday. "It's just a matter of talking and getting a deal done that's fair to both sides."

Schmidt is a restricted free agent who has an arbitration hearing scheduled for Thursday.

Keator didn't appear to be in a hurry to hammer out a deal with Golden Knights general manager George McPhee.

"I'm sure we'll talk sometime this week," the agent said. "I talked to George last week and there's no rush. There's still time."

Vegas selected Schmidt from the Washington Capitals in the expansion draft last month.

He posted only 17 points in 60 games this past season, but he was playing behind a stacked defense corps in D.C., and managed nearly a point per 60 minutes, according to Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com, while playing just 15:28 per game.

Schmidt is coming off the two-year, $1.625-million contract he signed with the Capitals in 2015.