Schmidt is expected to be a top-four defenseman with the Capitals in 2017-18, Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post reports.

EDGE Analysis

With Karl Alzner and Kevin Shattenkirk set to become UFA's, the path is clear for Schmidt to get a more prominent role on the Caps blueline, where he spent much of the season on the third pairing with Brooks Orpik before being relegated to a depth role following the acquisition of the aforementioned Shattenkirk at the trade deadline. A wild card in this plan is the potential that the 25-year-old Minnesotan could be enticing enough to the Vegas Golden Knights in the upcoming expansion draft to be added to their own roster. With an impressive playoff performance, the undrafted defender's prospects are certainly on the rise which should boost his fantasy value for 2017-18.