I Can See Clearly Now
Early reports out of Vancouver indicate that the Canucks organization has put pen to paper with elite young goalie Cory Schneider. (An Agreement in Principal)
A well deserved raise for the 26 year old Schneider. He was 20-8-1 in 2011/12 with a 1.96 GAA and a save-% of .937.
He replaced Roberto Luongo for Vancouver’s last three playoff games and went 1-2, allowing four goals.
The red headed budding star would have become a restricted free agent on Sunday, July 1st, potentially exposing him to offers from other teams looking to poach the up and coming Schneider.
The Canucks had been looking to sign him somewhere in the mid-three million dollar range, similar to another skilled young goaltender Boston’s Tuuka Rask. The two parties ended up agreeing on a $12 million term for three years that amounts to $4 million per annum.
Few people will see this as overpaying for the Massachusetts born Schneider, who possesses a skill set that is hard to find.
In fact, according to hockeyprospectus.com Schneider ranked second in the NHL for the 2011/12 regular season for the highest percentage of quality starts (defined as the play of a goaltender who “gave his team a chance to win”).
$12 million reasons to smile. Congrats Cory!
This statistical idea is similar to the concept in baseball of quality starts whereby a pitcher is able to keep his team in a game. Schneider’s rating was 70.4% for quality starts, behind only Brian Elliott of the St. Louis Blues, who posted 77.8%.
Even playoff MVP Jonathan Quick of the LA Kings was ranked lower at 68.1%.
In more conventional stats, Schneids was third in the league for goals against average and second in save percentage.
This rush to sign the American will also be seen as one more final nail in the coffin for Roberto Luongo’s stay in Vancouver.
Though trade discussions with Florida (and off/on talks with the Toronto Maple Leafs) have been ongoing regarding the slick haired one, there was still some faint speculation that the team might find a way to keep both goalies.
That is no longer an option, as following this agreement the Canucks would have $9,333,333 committed to both backstops.
The next few weeks just got a lot more interesting.
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