Let’s take a look back in time with one of the most consequential decisions in the history of the New Jersey Devils franchise. It came down to just a few words, as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman spoke to a Garden State crowd that was hosting the NHL Draft. “I think you’re going to want to hear this.”
We’re of course talking about the trade between the New Jersey Devils and Vancouver Canucks that sent Cory Schneider to be the heir apparent to the greatest goalie of all time. One small problem: Martin Brodeur was still in New Jersey.
Many might forget at this point, but the Devils traded for Schneider one year after Brodeur took the Devils to the Stanley Cup Final. He had to feel he was still elite, despite being on the wrong side of 40. Meanwhile, Lou Lamoriello and the Devils’ brass had to think they needed a contingency plan. Brodeur had just had a major injury in the lockout-shortened 2013 season. They could no longer count on Johan Hedberg, and their drafted goalies in the system were either too young (Scott Wedgewood) or not good enough (Jeff Frazee).
There were clearly feelings. All might have been fixed when the Devils drafted Anthony Brodeur at the end of the draft, but the situation was definitely strange.
Brodeur continued to have this strange situation where he wouldn’t play well on paper, but the Devils continued to win in front of him. The opposite was true for Schneider. He had a .921 save percentage and allowed fewer than two goals per game. Despite this, Schneider only won 16 of his 45 games. Brodeur won 19 of his 39 appearances.
The Devils missed the playoffs for the second year in a row, they let Brodeur’s contract lapse, he signed with the St. Louis Blues, and Schneider’s timeline never matched up. After being a Vezina-caliber goalie for a few years, Schneider signed a $6 million per year contract. Then, hip injuries completely ruined his effectiveness.
When the Devils were finally ready to compete with Taylor Hall’s MVP run in 2018, close to five years after the trade, Schneider was a shell of his former self. He found some hope in the playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but that was his last hurrah before he lost his game completely.
We’ve done the “what ifs” around Cory Schneider before. We talked about the dominoes that fall if the Devils never make this trade at all. The implications of that still impact the team today. Drafting Bo Horvat instead of taking Cory Schneider also changes who they take in 2015 when they mistakenly drafted Zacha.
However, what if instead of Cory Schneider, the Devils traded the ninth-overall pick for Roberto Luongo?
It’s not like this is unrealistic. The Canucks traded Luongo just a few months after trading Schneider, going from two great goalies to none. They sent him back to the Florida Panthers in a surprise move after another really good season.
Roberto Luongo had a pseudo-rivalry with Martin Brodeur, so this one REALLY wouldn’t have gone over well. They both strived to be the starting goalie for Team Canada at the Olympics, with both leading the country to a gold medal.
Would Lou Lamoriello do that to Brodeur? In this universe, he would. Lamoriello knew he had limited time with Brodeur, so whether it’s Luongo or Schneider, the writing was on the wall that the end was near. Trading for Luongo might have forced his hand and he would have traded Brodeur, but that would honestly feel the same as seeing him sign in St. Louis. No matter how Brodeur left the franchise, it will always be weird seeing him play without the red and black jersey.
As far as the Devils go, the team would be MUCH better with Luongo. He was still at the top of his game despite his advanced age. The Devils likely make the playoffs with Luongo in one of the years they didn’t with Schneider. It wouldn’t have been more than a first or second-round exit, but playoffs is playoffs.
Where this really makes a difference is in 2018. With Taylor Hall playing at an MVP level, the Devils wouldn’t have lost some of their early-season bluster due to Schneider’s inefficiency. Turning just one regulation loss into a win would catapult the Devils from the final Wild Card to the third seed in the Metropolitan, jumping both the Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers in the process.
The Devils could face off with the Pittsburgh Penguins instead of the Tampa Bay Lightning that season. We see that as a better matchup. En route to winning the series, the Penguins scored 28 goals in six games. We don’t see Luongo giving up that kind of volume. We do see the Devils playing well against them and putting Sidney Crosby into a blender.
If the Devils rode Luongo, who you might remember almost carried the Panthers to usurp the Devils for their final playoff spot, into the playoffs, they would have a dominant netminder instead of Keith Kinkaid, who was unproven on the biggest stage.
Luongo probably gives Ray Shero a different issue than Schneider did, which was the bad contract he signed. However, it’s worth noting that Shero might not have been hired if the Devils made the playoffs with Luongo. Yes, there are other major issues with Lamoriello other than the Schneider trade, but if his veteran goalie carried him to an extra playoff series or even a run, then Lamoriello might still be the Devils’ GM.
But let’s act as if everything stayed the same in the front office. Shero still succeeded Lamoriello in the big chair and Lou moved on to Toronto. Shero would then have to find a new goalie in 2019. Instead of focusing on acquiring P.K. Subban, they might have signed Sergei Bobrovsky, where he would still replace Luongo, just on a different team. They also might have signed Robin Lehner or traded for James Reimer.
The Devils might also draft a goalie higher, like taking Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen over Jesper Boqvist in 2017 or Filip Gustavsson instead of Nathan Bastian in 2016. Goalie would be more of a priority if they thought replacing a legend was still on the table.
Luongo’s Devils era would have been amazing. It unfortunately would have gone a lot better than reality.