A New Jersey Devils reporter for the Star-Ledger, Ryan Novozinsky is reporting that goaltender Cory Schneider is officially retiring from the National Hockey League. A 13-year veteran, Schneider had lengthy stays with the Vancouver Canucks and Devils, while he would finish his career with the New York Islanders organization.
Originally the 26th overall selection of the 2004 NHL Draft, Schneider would go on to spend three seasons with the Boston College Eagles of the NCAA, before finally signing his entry-level contract with the Canucks before the start of the 2007-08 season. Schneider would help lead Boston College to back-to-back National Championships in 2006 and 2007, losing to Wisconsin University and Michigan State University, respectively.
He would spend the entire 2007-08 season playing for the then-AHL affiliate to Vancouver, the Manitoba Moose, before finally getting his cup of coffee in the NHL in the 2008-09 season. As the Canucks continued to build a Stanley Cup contender, Schneider made the full-time jump to the NHL during the 2010-11 season, primarily playing behind Roberto Luongo. The team would make it to the Stanley Cup Final that season, losing to the Boston Bruins in seven games.
Due to the incredible play from both Luongo and Schneider, rumors began to swirl surrounding both, as all signs pointed to the Canucks eventually moving on from one of them. At the 2013 NHL Draft, the domino fell, as Schneider was dealt to the Devils for the ninth overall pick, which would land the Canucks Bo Horvat. Expected to fill the shoes that would be left by franchise legend Martin Brodeur, Schneider got control of New Jersey’s net for the 2014-15 season. He would finish his career as a Canuck with a 55-26-8 record in 86 starts, carrying a .927 SV% and a 2.20 GAA over five seasons.
His first year with the Devils was exceptional, leading then-General Manager Lou Lamoriello to sign Schneider to a seven-year, $42M contract extension, giving New Jersey their long-term answer in net as Brodeur had moved on to the St. Louis Blues. The 2015-16 season would be the last truly impressive season of Schneider’s career, as he would see his numbers continually decline each year after. Schneider would only lead the Devils to the playoffs once during his seven years with the club, losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the 2017-18 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Originally, his seven-year extension with New Jersey would have taken Schneider to the 2021-22 season, but the team decided to buy out the last two years of his deal after the 2019-20 season. Following Lamoriello to Long Island, Schneider would spend the next three seasons playing on one-year deals for the Islanders, only seeing one game at the NHL over that time. Although it was an unceremonious end to an incredible start to his career, Schneider would finish his career with 410 games played, posting a 171-159-58 record, with an SV% of .918 and a GAA of 2.43.
We at Pro Hockey Rumors congratulate Schneider on a respectable career, and we wish him the best as he moves into the next chapter of his life.
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