FORT LAUDERDALE — Florida Panthers defenseman Nate Schmidt is just shy of his 34th birthday and can look back on having skated in his 700th NHL game. So nobody should be surprised that with such a veteran’s viewpoint, he knows better than to take this year’s run to the Stanley Cup Final for granted.

Schmidt will tell you that unlike his younger self, he knows how this game works.

“You never know when you’re gonna be back,” he said.

If it were as simple as taking a wiser look on a team level, that would be one thing. But with Schmidt, it cuts deeper.

Way deeper.

“You know how it is,” he said. “I mean, there comes a point where sometimes you also try to promote yourself to make people remember.”

Make people remember, he means, how much he can contribute.

And by people, he’s including Nate Schmidt.

“Other people, but it’s kind of reminding yourself.”

Schmidt is reminding “people,” all right, and that would include the Edmonton Oilers. The series is tied a 1-1 following a 4-3 loss in Game 1 and a 5-4 win in Game 2, both in overtime. Put it together and that’s eight goals scored by the Panthers — half of which saw Schmidt contribute an assist.

That’s not all Schmidt has contributed. The Panthers could have caved after conceding a trying goal with 18 seconds left in regulation. Instead, their resolve once again was tested, which is where the Panthers are grateful for the kind of veteran leadership they added when Schmidt signed as a free agent in the offseason.

“That was part of the conversation in the summer last year because I’ve had him briefly and he’s a big ‘smile’ guy,” coach Paul Maurice said. “Lots of chatter we need. We lost a few of those guys we still talk about.”

Maurice dropped the names Josh Mahura. Nick Cousins.

“Those guys never shut up,” Maurice said. “Which was great for us. Nate does that.”

Nate Schmidt needed time to fit in with Florida Panthers

Schmidt takes a before-and-after view of that, too. Remember, he joined a team that had just won the Stanley Cup.

“It was pretty difficult for the first couple of weeks, being like, ‘Hey, how do you find your way with this team? How do you know where you fit in with this group and what can you do to provide? Is it enough? Is it the same that they lost?’ All those things in your head.”

All those questions played in Schmidt’s head the first dozen games of the season. Then came a team trip to Finland for a couple of games. Schmidt realized he’s where he ought to be.

“You start to look at, ‘OK, this is the time, this team, there’s a role for you here,’ ” he said.

That role is playing defense and contributing when opportunities arise at the other end of the ice. Most of all, it involves doing what you do best.

“We don’t ask you to do more,” he said he learned of the organization at that point in the season. “That’s one of the biggest things I learned and understand — that that’s good enough. You don’t have to try and be like, ‘I need to be playing more. I didn’t do this, I didn’t do that.’ It was like, ‘No, no. You’re right where we need you to be.’ ”

Schmidt can laugh about growing pains, such as a mistake he made in a preseason game that drew a correction from Sam Bennett. Schmidt is coy about what the mistake was.

“This team has such a defined way that they play and you gotta get on board,” Schmidt said. “Bennett said it wasn’t good.”

Schmidt has found his footing especially in the postseason, scoring the game-winner in Game 2 against Tampa Bay, chalking up four points vs. Toronto. After getting shut out of the scoring in the Carolina series, Schmidt is back in form.

Back to reminding everyone what he can do.

Including himself.

A fed-up Florida homeowner battling a whopping $165,000 in fines for nitpicky property violations — including a cracked driveway and a toppled fence — is dragging her case to the state’s Supreme Court.

Officials in the city of Latana, about 20 minutes south of Palm Beach, even fined Sandy Martinez for how she parked in her driveway. That alone set the single mom back a hefty $100,000 as daily penalties piled up.

Martinez’s parking fines started accumulating in May 2019. When all four family members’ cars were home at her household, sometimes one would end up with two tires on the lawn.

The penalty for that? A whopping $250 a day. 

After the first citation, Martinez tried to arrange a visit with a code-enforcement officer to show she had corrected the violation. But those efforts proved “fruitless” and the daily fines accumulated, she said in a lawsuit she filed in 2021 against the city of Latana and local code enforcement.

“Six-figure fines for parking on your own property are outrageous,” Institute for Justice Attorney Mike Greenberg, the lawyer representing Martinez, said in a news release about the case.

The city also fined Martinez for “minor and purely cosmetic” cracks in her driveway, according to court papers.

Martinez didn’t have enough cash to fix the driveway right away. She was then hit with $75 fines every day for 215 days, for a total of $16,125 — “far greater than the cost of an entirely new driveway,” she said in the litigation.

Then there was the fence.

A major storm downed it, but resolving the insurance claim to fix it took a while. During that time, Martinez was hit with $125 daily fines for 379 days, totaling $47,375.

Martinez lost when she took her case to court in 2021, with the lower courts ruling against her.

Now she thinks it’s time for Florida’s highest court to weigh in on a constitutional basis — the right to be free from excessive fines and government abuse, protected by the Florida Constitution’s Excessive Fines Clause.

The case epitomizes “taxation by citation,” something small towns, more prone to economic hardship, can sometimes ­rely on for part of their budgets, according to the Institute.

The Institute says municipal code enforcement has become a “cash cow” in Florida, with some towns generating millions of dollars annually.

Local officials did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

With the 2025 college football season slowly approaching, Florida Gators on SI will be recognizing some of the top players to suit up in the Florida Gators’ orange and blue. 

Since Florida kicks off their season against Long Island University in 85 days, let’s take a look at some of the best players in program history to wear No. 85. 

David Galloway (1978-81)

The University of Florida Athletic Hall of Famer takes the crown for today’s list.

Galloway spent four seasons at Florida, where he earned first team All-American honors and was an All-SEC selection twice. During his final season at Florida, he was part of a Gators team that pulled off the biggest single-season turn-around in NCAA Division One history, returning from a winless season in 1979 to become an 8-4 bowl team in 1980.

By the time his collegiate career was over, Galloway was tied with teammate Robin Fisher for the most sacks in program history. He was later drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals (now Arizona Cardinals) in the second round (38th overall) of the 1982 NFL Draft. He went on to play nine seasons in the NFL, starting 76 games while recording 38 sacks.

Frankie Hammond (2008-12)

While he might not be considered to be a program legend, Hammond carved out a solid collegiate career for himself.

Throughout this time in Gainesville, Hammond appeared in 48 games, while starting 19. He finished his Gators career with 63 catches for 809 yards and six touchdowns while being an important member in the team’s run to the Sugar Bowl in the 2012 season.

After going undrafted in 2013, Hammond went on to spend three seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, catching four passes for 45 yards while also contributing in the return game, totaling 389 yards.