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Sports

 

By Josh Martin, Sports Editor

ith the NHL trade
deadline looming right
around the corner,

one can’t help but wonder what
fate lies in the palms of backup
goaltender, Cory Schneider’s
hands. The 25-year-old net-
minder is undoubtedly ready
to be a starting goaltender in
this league, but with Roberto
Luongo holding that spot on
the Vancouver Canucks—along
with the 11 years remaining on
his NHL contract—it’s hard to
say that Schneider will be sticking
around come next season... let
alone this spring.

Last season Schneider proved
that he was finally ready to make
the step up into this league after
all of these years of holding him
back since drafting him in the first
round, 26th overall, in the 2004
entry draft. This season he has
proven that he’s not only ready to
play in this league but he’s also
compatible with all of the other
bona fide elite goaltender starters
around North America. His
numbers alone tell the story: he’s

 

currently sporting a 10-5-0 record,
a .927 Save Percentage—which is
good for sixth in the league—and
a 2.30 Goals Against Average,
along with two shutouts.

Pretty impressive numbers
for a goaltender who is halfway
through his second year in the

 

— SAOMUICKS COMET The Schneider inquiry —

 

Or does it?

Schneider is on the last
year of his two-year, $900,000
contract, and will be expecting
quite a hefty raise given that he is
playing like a solid number one
goaltender in this league. Now,
the Canucks can’t afford to give

“Schneider is on the last year of his two-year, $900,000 contract, and
will be expecting quite a hefty raise given that he is playing like a
solid number one goaltender in this league.”

NHL... which just makes it

that much more difficult when
coming up with a decision on
what to do with this goaltending
predicament.

You see, the Canucks have a
few options. If they want to make
another run at the Stanley Cup,
they’re going to have to have a
strong goaltending tandem for the
long haul. And why would you
break up the goaltending duo of
Luongo and Schneider that has
already demonstrated that they
can make it to the finals in one
piece. It just doesn’t make sense.

him the money that he deserves,
and the fact that Luongo has 11
years remaining on his contract
pretty much tells the story of how
this tale is going to play out.

So if the Canucks do decide to
keep Schneider and not look back,
then no matter how well they do
in the post-season, Cory will be
literally be walking away from
this team in the off-season and
right into free agency for nothing.
However, on the other hand, if
the Canucks do decide to trade
Schneids at the trade deadline,
they can possibly get in exchange

a top-six forward, along with top-
four defensemen, which would be
highly beneficial for the Canucks
who were evidently worn down
towards the end of the playoffs
last spring.

No matter which way you
look at it, the fact of the matter
is that this talented, young,
goaltender will not be wearing a
Canucks uniform for that much
longer. It’s pretty sad, especially
since this is the best the Canucks
have ever been in franchise
history.

They couldn’t get the job
done last year, and with how
everything is looking this may be
the last possible chance for years
to come to go all the way. Last
Thursday the Canucks defeated
the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in overtime
to take the number one position
in the NHL standings. They hold
a 28-14-3 record and 59 points in
45 games played. They have all
of the ingredients, now they just
need the finish.

 

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