Devils Smart to Acquire Schneider

With Martin Brodeur nearing the end of his very illustrious career, the New Jersey Devils absolutely had to address their goaltending needs going forward sooner rather than later.

For Devils’ general manager Lou Lamoriello, there was no time like the present. Lamoriello shocked the hockey world when he traded his club’s ninth overall pick of the NHL Entry Draft to the Vancouver Canucks for goaltender Cory Schneider.

It appeared that for the longest time, Canucks’ general manager Mike Gillis was doing everything he possibly could to try and deal netminder Roberto Luongo. However, because of Luongo’s contract and cap hit, there were not many takers on the market.

With the team needing some more depth up front, especially at the centre ice position, Gillis decided to move Schneider to the Devils and with the ninth overall pick, took London Knights’ forward Bo Horvat. This move may not end up being liked by many in Vancouver but for the Devils and their fans, it is a move they needed to make and a move that needed to be done for the betterment of their team’s future between the pipes.

At 27 years of age, Schneider has already proven that he can be a starting goaltender and a successful one at that. This past season, Schneider went 17-9-4 with a 2.11 GAA, a .927 save percentage, and five shutouts.

Playing behind a guy like Luongo probably wasn’t easy in the beginning as Schneider probably did not know how many games he was going to get to play. With that said, he showed the Canucks that there was not much of a drop off when he was put in between the pipes and not only that, he showed that he could put up numbers that were just as good, if not better than Luongo’s.

Obviously, no one is quite sure how much playing time he will get this season considering that Brodeur is still on the team and in the last year of his contract. Brodeur has been everything and more to the Devils and obviously wants to do everything he possibly can to go out on a high note.

With that said, the Devils and their coaching staff has to realize that the goaltender of their future is now Schneider. Brodeur may have the recognition, the trophies, and the experience but father time is all but here for the Devils’ 41 year-old goaltender.

For the first time since Brodeur stepped up on the ice when the franchise wore red and green, the Devils appear to have a goaltender for the future and in Schneider, there may not be any goaltender that a team would rather go with than him right now.