Coyotes forward Vinnie Hinostroza, who was also Schmaltz's teammate with the Blackhawks from 2016-18, wasn't surprised that Schmaltz got off to a quick start in Arizona.
"I think you saw spurts of it here [in Chicago], but when he came down there I think they just told him, 'Go play, do your thing and have fun with it,'" Hinostroza said. "It's unfortunate he got that knee injury, but we have a great staff down there, our trainers and everything. He's stronger than ever, and it's going to be huge having him healthy next year."
Schmaltz has been working out in his hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, where incorporating preventative maintenance has been a big part of his summer training after missing so much time last season.
"I don't want to go through the same thing I went through this year, so I'm just doing some injury prevention stuff, strengthening the muscles around the knee and whatever it may be," Schmaltz said. "I'm just making sure I'm coming in feeling healthy and feeling 100 percent so I can maintain that throughout the year and not have to sit and watch again.
"It's just maintaining that strength throughout the season and making sure you're staying mobile and doing a lot of flexibility work, staying as loose as you can throughout the year because you're always getting banged up."