One of the more interesting storylines surrounding the Devils this off-season is what will happen with Cory Schneider.
If you go by history, you’d expect to hear nothing about a contract, that he’d be the team’s No. 1 goaltender next season, and then New Jersey would attempt to re-sign him in the weeks before unrestricted free agency.
That plan hasn’t worked very well for Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello over the last few years, so he's going to try a different approach this year.
Lamoriello told anyone who would listen that re-signing Schneider to a long-term extension was among the top priorities for the team, and that he'd like to have Schneider locked up sooner rather than later.
While not many league-wide look at Schneider as a truly elite goaltender, he has been to this point in his career. Schneider has consistently been at or near the top of the league in save percentage, and was once again this season on a team that failed to qualify for the playoffs.
As you can see, since Schneider entered the league, he's posted a career .925 save percentage. The only goaltender who has a better SV% is Tuukka Rask, and he's played behind an elite Bruins team with Zdeno Chara on the backend throughout his time in Boston.
Pekka Rinne, Carey Price, Jonathan Quick, etc. have all posted lesser numbers - albeit over larger sample sizes - and are making crazy amounts of cash, ranging from $5.8 - $7 million per season on deals 6-10 years in length.
Lamoriello doesn't dish out long-term big money contracts often, but if he'd like Schneider to remain a Devil for a long time, he's going to have to convince the new ownership group to open up their wallets.
Realistically, I think it'll take at least six years and $5.5-$6.25 million per season to keep Schneider a Devil. Considering the salary cap is going up, and what the rest of the top goaltenders are making, that appears to be fair value.
I'm not one to dish out career-length contracts - especially to goaltenders - though I'd give Schneider 5-6 years at an annual average in the ball park of $6 million.
Given that Martin Brodeur's $4 million are off the books, the Devils can afford to give Schneider upwards of $6 million, and still have enough to sign a serviceable backup without investing any more cash in goal next season than this past year.
Goaltenders are a pretty risky investment, and only a select few ever prove to be worth what they make over the length of a long-term contract, but I think Schneider could be one of the few factoring in his elite level play to this point, his age, and the lack of wear and tear on his body.
It'll be interesting to see the terms of a contract extension if and when it's reached.
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Email: NHLToddCordell@Gmail.com