Schmidt is not being protected from the expansion draft, Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post reports.

EDGE Analysis

After recording 17 points in 60 games at a bottom-four, blue-line position, many around Washington expected Schmidt to be protected, especially since Karl Alzner and Kevin Shattenkirk are headed to free agency. Besides Philip Grubauer, he's the most headlined option for Vegas to pick up. He could be protected by a deal between the Caps and the Golden Knights, but this would be difficult since Washington has given up so many draft picks already in previous trades. If Schmidt is picked up, there will be a lot of fresh faces on the Caps' blue line come fall.