Cory Schneider earned his Masters in Goaltender Diplomacy while in Vancouver, nestled into that intimate setting that included himself, Roberto Luongo, and several million West Coast goaltender instructors.
That he wasn’t the one to stay in Vancouver’s new, one-goaltender system was neither GM Mike Gillis’choice nor Schneider’s fault. Strombone1 proved unmovable, something had to give, and Schneider handled his exit with class.
When we tracked Schneider down in Week 1 of the NHL season, with a return to Vancouver on the Devils schedule later that week, he handled himself with his usual aplomb.
“It’s a privilege to play in the NHL,” Schneider said, just a few days into the 2013-14 season. “That’s really something you have to remind yourself of every day. If you’re going to sit there being frustrated, or angry about stuff you can’t control, it’s going to take away from the team. It’s going to take away from how you play.
“I’ve just learned you have to do what’s best for the team, and prepare to play whenever you’re called upon. I just don’t think you can be a selfish player in this league.”
So what has changed in New Jersey, where Schneider has finally spoken out about playing second fiddle to Martin Brodeur? Why the lip from a guy who had every right to spout off in Vancouver, but never did?
Every man’s patience has its limits, it seems, and Schneider’s has run out in New Jersey. Gone from sharing the net with the reigning (and likely current) Olympic starter, to dressing next to a former one with the Devils, Schneider isn’t the plucky youngster challenging for the Canucks starting job anymore.
He is instead an expectant 27–year-old looking to finally get his career as a National Hockey League No. 1 underway, and perhaps even audition for a spot on the U.S. Olympic roster as well.
Brodeur can’t seem to find the pasture, the coach keeps playing him, and Schneider is getting sick of the whole thing.
“It’s ‘Groundhog Day’ for me,” Schneider told Northjersey.com’s Tom Gulitti this week. “I can’t seem to escape it.”
Is Schneider whining? Or is he just a guy who looks back at a career of saying the right things and wondering, “Where did that get me, really?”
“I’m trying to work hard and do what I can, but I’d just like to see the ice a little bit more is all,” Schneider told the media in New Jersey. “Marty is playing really well. He’s got the net and he’s running with it. I know it’s part of the game… it’s just something where I just want to play more.”
Devils GM Lou Lamoriello hand-picked Schneider to be Brodeur’s successor. It was a move borne out of many years of closely following the Boston College program where Schneider played, talking with people who knew and/or coached Schneider, and a general sense that — after what he’d successfully dealt with in Vancouver — Schneider was the perfect fit to inherit the Devils goal from a walk-in Hall of Famer like Brodeur.
Then the season started, Schneider was injured for a short while, and Brodeur recovered form a shaky start and found his game again. The numbers show Schneider’s game to be ahead of Brodeur’s, with his .925 save percentage in 10 starts superior to Brodeur’s .910 in 15 starts.
Then why has Brodeur started the past three games, all Devils losses, and four of the past five heading into a visit to Raleigh, North Carolina tonight? He’s had 11 of the past 15 starts, while Schneider dons the ol’ ball cap and waits his turn, the same way he did in Vancouver for all that time.
And finally, after all Schneider has been through in his short and star-crossed career, he’s fed up.
“It’s normal,” Brodeur said. “It’s being a competitor. If you just sit there and say it’s fine, first, you wouldn’t be truthful. And second, you’ll never be a No. 1 goalie if you think like that.”
Never be a No. 1 goalie. You don’t have to tell Schneider about that problem, Marty.
