Ending up on this list is not how things were supposed to work out for Cory Schneider in 2019-20. At the end of last season, the veteran goaltender finally found his game after going an entire calendar year plus without a victory.
He finished 2018-2019 with a respectable 6-6-2 record in his last 14 appearances to go along with a .923 save percentage. He continued his good play into the spring at the IIHF World Championship, posting a .920 save percentage for the United States in six games. Finally, he capped it all off with a dominant 2019 preseason in which he appeared in 4 games and posted a 1.80 goals against average (GAA).
After all this, Schneider started the season in New Jersey with an 0-4-1 record in six appearances. This earned him a demotion to Binghamton on Nov. 19. The former Canuck improved his game in the AHL while he appeared in 14 games and posted a 2.71 GAA to go along with a .903 save percentage. He finally won his first NHL game this season on Tuesday night in Detroit after going 0-7-2 in his previous 11 appearances. With Domingue being dealt at the deadline, Schneider will have the opportunity to reassert his game at the NHL level for the remainder of the season. I would anticipate fellow goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood to get a majority of the starts the rest of the way, but Schneider will surely see some playing time in favorable matchups.
The Devils will have a few different options with Schneider come the summertime. The one that seems most popular throughout the fanbase is a buyout. The Devils goaltender is owed $12 million over the final two years of his deal after this season concludes and he carries a cap-hit of $6 million AAV. According to the buyout tool on CapFriendly, the Devils would be on the books for an annual $2 million cap-penalty through 2023-2024 if they chose to execute a buyout this summer. On the flip side, Schneider could get his game together and be a mentor to Blackwood for the remainder of his contract in New Jersey. It will be interesting to see if ownership is willing to bite the bullet on a buyout or if the organization wants to give the veteran goaltender yet another chance going into 2020-2021.