Former Canucks goalie Cory Schneider hasn't seen a regular season win in a full calendar year
Five years have passed since the Vancouver Canucks dealt Cory Schneider to the New Jersey Devils.
The Devils received Schneider, a star goaltender at the time, in exchange for the ninth overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft. The pick was used to select Bo Horvat, who was drafted from the London Knights of the OHL.
Fast forward to today and Horvat has emerged as a cornerstone in the Canucks’ core of younger players, as well as a likely candidate for their next captain.
Schneider, on the other hand, has experienced nothing short of a fall from grace.
Thursday, December 27, 2018, marks exactly one year since the goaltender’s last regular season win.
According to Sportsnet Stats, he’s been 0-15-3 with a 4.26 GAA and a .859 SV%.
It has been exactly one year since #NJDevils Cory Schneider won a regular season game (12/27/2017). He is 0-15-3 with a 4.26 GAA & .859 SV% in 21 regular season games since then.
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) December 27, 2018
It’s a polar opposite of his time in Vancouver, when Schneider compiled a 55-26-8 record with a .927 SV% over the course of 98 games.
Schneider’s struggles began partway through last season. The goaltender played through pain and missed five weeks with a groin injury from January. Offseason surgery was also required to repair the torn cartilage in his hip.
Before the season could end, he began losing his role as starting netminder to Keith Kinkaid and was benched by the start of the playoffs.
Schneider’s last flash of brilliance took place during a postseason stint as a part of the New Jersey Devils’ brief appearance in the 2018 NHL playoffs.
Through three and a half games, Schneider posted a remarkable 1.78 GAA and .950 SV%. Despite the strong showing, he only saw one win before the Tampa Bay Lightning knocked out the Devils after five games.
As for the New Jersey Devils, they can only hope that the 32-year-old netminder returns to his former self in the new year. Schneider currently has three years remaining on a seven-year contract after this season; he carries an annual cap hit of $6 million.