The New Jersey Devils must make a decision on Cory Schnieder’s status.
The New Jersey Devils are a team that has seen one of their two goaltenders play well over the 2019-20 season. Mackenzie Blackwood was awesome and looks like a guy who can be the clear cut number one. Meanwhile, Cory Schneider and Louis Domingue did a lousy job as the backup goaltenders for the Devils, and it cost them an invite to the playoff bubble. There probably isn’t going to be a 24-team playoff in 2020-21, so they need to get so much better as a team to make the postseason. If there’s any chance that happens, the goaltending also needs to be sorted out.
Cory Schneider is the big name of the two “backups” from last year because of all that he has done in his career. He was one of the best goalies in the NHL during the early years of his Devils career. He always had Vezina Trophy level numbers but the Devils were a bad team so he never got any recognition. Now as the Devils start to improve their roster, Schneider has fallen off.
Schneider even found himself on waivers in 2019-20 which was tough to see. He cleared the waiver period and was sent down to the AHL where he played for the Binghamton Devils. That was a low point in his career, but he never complained or anything like that. He just took care of his business for the betterment of the team. He did spend a good amount of time down there but he did finish the season back with the big club.
Now, at 34 years old, he still has two more seasons left on his contract with an average annual value of 6 million. That is a lot of money for a goalie who isn’t very good and goes back and forth between the NHL and AHL. The question remains whether or not the Devils will buy out his contract. They currently have the lowest payroll in the National Hockey League so that makes things a little easier but the play on the ice is an issue.
If they want to make a trade or sign one in free agency, the Devils might just need to cut ties with Schneider. He might be able to get a chance somewhere else which would be beneficial to both players. It is probably a good idea for the Devils to move on from a lot of the players on the roster that continuously comes in last-place. Schneider has been a great soldier but the Devils need to start worrying about the future of the team now.