By Jordan Long
The NHL season is upon us with opening night on October 10th with 3 games. Nashville heads to Tampa Bay to take on the Lightning, Pittsburgh hosts Chicago, and the Vegas Golden Knights start their Stanley Cup defense against Seattle. There is one player who has decided to call it a career, goaltender Cory Schneider.
Schneider started his NHL career in the 2008 to 2009 season with Vancouver. He went 2-4-1 with a goals against average of 3.38 and a save percentage of .877, a taste of what he could do at the NHL level. In 2010, Schneider became Vancouver’s starting goaltender. He went 16-4-2 with a goals against average of 2.33 and a save percentage of .915. He would stay in Vancouver until the end of the 2013 season. His top year for Vancouver was in 2012 where he went 20-8-1 with a goals against average of 1.96 and a save percentage of .937.
Vancouver earned a playoff spot from 2010 to 2013. Schneider appeared in 10 playoff games for Vancouver. His record was 1-4 with a goals against average of 2.59 and a save percentage of .922. Vancouver even advanced to the Stanley Cup Final in 2011, the only time
Schneider had a chance to win the Cup in his career. He was the backup to Roberto Luongo. They lost in 7 games to the Boston Bruins.
Vancouver tried to trade Roberto Luongo during the 2013 offseason. They were unable to do so but decided on June 30th, 2013, to trade Schneider to the New Jersey Devils for the number 9 overall pick in that draft. That ended up being Bo Horvat. With the deal, Schneider now had a new home.
Schneider spent the next 7 years with the Devils. In 2016, he posted the most wins in his career with 27. Unfortunately, he also lost 25 games and had 6 overtime losses. The Devils earned a playoff spot once with him, in 2018. They were beaten in Tampa Bay in 4 games. Schneider’s overall record with the Devils was 115 wins, 133 losses, and 50 overtime losses with a goals against average of 2.50 and a save percentage of .915.
Schneider played one game in the 2021-22 season with the New York Islanders. It lasted one game. He spent last year with the Islander’s AHL (American Hockey League) affiliate the Bridgeport Islanders. He posted a record of 19 wins, 11 losses, and 3 overtime losses. His goals against average was 2.94 with a save percentage of .913.
Schneider was hoping for another shot with an NHL team during the offseason. There wasn’t a team who took a chance on him. With the season so close to starting, Schneider decided it was best to leave the game.
According to ESPN.com, Schneider said “I’m at peace with it. I’ll miss my teammates and the intensity of playing, but it’s the right time for me.”
Schneider leaves the game with a career record of 171 wins, 159 losses, and 58 overtime losses. His goals against stands at 2.43 with a save percentage of .918. Schneider’s only highlight in the NHL was being voted to the All-Star game in 2016. Schneider at least got to play 13 years in the NHL. Not many players are able to have that long of a career. Schneider can hold his head up high since he was able to play hockey at the highest level.
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