As a new blogger, there is no better place to start than with the New Jersey Devils. There are so many painful components that add up to one massive disaster that is the Devils organization. Ryane Clowe's seemingly inevitable concussions that have now become so frequent that his contract has become a laughable embarrassment, the 'role players' who in all honesty have no role whatsoever (I'm looking at you Dainius Zubrus), or a senile and stubborn general manager who refuses to acknowledge the necessity that is a dedicated and unwavering rebuild -- it all adds up to one massive calamity that is the current state of the New Jersey Devils organization. Now, we were all extremely lucky in regard to the success that we saw, as few sports franchises in North America can say that they experienced the continuous triumphs that seemed to await us at the end of each season. Division titles were the norm, deep playoff runs were expected, and Stanley Cup contention was expected. Times change though, and previous organizational affluence does not make the pain of losing any less bothersome or frustrating.
It's important to establish that a good portion of Devils fans are aware of Schneider's brilliance. Most of the comments both pre-and-post game are paying homage to the only Devil who deserves any praise this season, with the exception of maybe Damon Severson who gained admiration from the hockey world for his play in the first month of the season. There are players who have had decent seasons - see Andy Greene, Adam Larsson, Damon Severson or Steve Bernier, but having a decent season for the Devils is the equivalent of coming 60th in a race of about 80 people. In fact, most opposing fans and commentators are usually the first ones to mention Schneider's strong play, only for a handful of Devils fans to disagree with the logic that "Schneider isn't good because I say he isn't good."
Yet, what really motivated the start of my blog was the ability to share my thoughts on those who aren't recognizing Schneider. While being a fan of anything is judged by opinion, some are either dreadfully mislead or painfully biased to ensure that they never acknowledge Schneider or his unbelievably impressive play so far this season. There are blogs and facebook groups alike that seem to have an agenda, waiting by their computers for a rare Schneider mistake so that they can refresh and make known of Schneider's "massive five hole" or "poor stick handling ability." There are a few hypothetical reasons that some are like this:
a) With the team losing, some are under the impression that wins are everything (Hint: they're not). Wins are comprised of many elements that work together to produce enough, yet keep out enough at the same time. Everybody loves to win, but a goaltender only controls one element of a winning final product.
b) Speaking of wins, Marty Brodeur was a decent goaltender. Decent enough that he achieved 691 wins and backstopped the Devils to three championships and five finals in total. With Brodeur being outplayed by Schneider last year, what has emerged is a sense of hostility towards Schneider for putting the final nail in the coffin of Brodeur's Devils career. Understandably, it was tough for anybody to see their hero be forced out by the play of a younger, better goaltender.
c) He's never been a starter and Vancouver forced him out - which is so wrong that its not even worth going into.
Bob, if you thought they disrespected us in Vancouver, try playing in New Jersey
The numbers speak for themselves. Some dispute this statistical evidence, as if save percentage is as pointless as plus-minus totals on Wednesdays in December games over the past five years. The Devils rank a woeful 29th in goals for per game. Yet, the Devils are a very respectable 13th in goals against per game, well ahead of their overall league position. The New York Islanders, the Eastern Conference's newly constructed first place powerhouse are in 22nd in goals against per game. Thus, Schneider faces a hilariously pathetic conundrum: shut out the opposition or face defeat, due to the fact that he is usually supported by a single goal, or if he's really lucky - two.
Schneider ranks fifth in qualified save percentage (.924) and ninth in qualified goals against average (2.27). Schneider's game log points to the fact that over the past 20 games, his save percentage has been around .930 or above regularly. He has registered the most saves in the NHL (1310) and despite playing for what is admittedly a useless team in front of him, Schneider has allowed fewer goals (107) than Rask (111), Niemi (115), Quick (117), and Lehtonen (130). AND - he's started more games than all of them.
Compare his individual statistics to some of the all stars that represented their respective clubs a few weeks ago in Columbus.
Cory Schneider (49 GP): .924 SV%, 2.27 GAA
Jaroslav Halak (43 GP): .910 SV%, 2.48 GAA
Roberto Luongo (46 GP): .920 SV%, 2.38 GAA
Corey Crawford (39 GP): .922 SV%, 2.24 GAA
If you think Schneider's numbers are amazing now, which they are, it is then worth further mentioning that since Salvador was pretty much forced to fake in injury by the Devils' brass for being consistently horrible on November 10, Schneider sports a .934 save percentage and 1.95 goals against average - all on a team that allows Marek Zidlicky to play 20 minutes a night.
The numbers are there and the logic is there. When putting the two together, it's painfully obvious that Schneider has not only been by far the Devils' best player this season, but also one of the best goaltenders in the NHL. No, we're not talking Carey Price or Pekka Rinne good, though if they want to donate a few goals here and there to support us, Cory wouldn't mind.
Then you realize that every single game the Devils play, they are facing better opposition.
Earlier this week, Scott Gomez said Schneider didn't get enough credit. Travis Zajac stated that Schneider has won us a lot of games. Of course the majority knew this, but there are still the minority who incessantly ramble on about Schneider's lack of ability in some minuscule aspect.
The numbers are there in front of you. Spread the word, and until then:
Great article! The only place I'd differ is that I think you CAN put him in the category of Price and Rinne. Playing for those teams, Cory might have better numbers than they do.
ReplyDelete"He's no Marty." That's my favorite comment from the anti-Cory camp. They're right! He's not Marty, he's Cory, and we're lucky yo have him.
I look forward to the future, being able to look at other goalies and think, "He's no Cory!"
Great job, Jake!
Thanks for the kind words Jeff.
DeleteAgree with you. Schneider, if supported by the right cast, has the opportunity to cement his own legacy as a goaltender in the Devils organization.