5 New Jersey Devils Who Could Win Awards This Season
By Nick Villano
4. Cory Schneider For Vezina Trophy
The story line is there for Cory Schneider to come back and win the Vezina Trophy. Would I bet on it? Absolutely not, but there’s a reason to think it is possible.
Schneider is coming off a major surgery on his hip. The Devils expect this to finally fix the issues that have plagued Schneider for the past three seasons. Sure, Schneider may miss the first few weeks of the season, but that definitely won’t disqualify him from winning this award.
When experts look at goaltender play, they look at the averages and not the accumulative stats. Unlike forwards, which are judged on goals and assists, goalies must excel at save percentage and goals against average. If Schneider can put together one more season like he was from 2014 to 2016.
If Schneider pulls the comeback, voters will buy into that story. This was a player lots of people gave up on. He’s considered an issue for the Devils run to return to the playoffs. If he uses that negativity and drives it into a positive, that will really help him with the voters.