Schneider Adds Experience, Depth to Islanders Crease

In this season, perhaps more than any other, depth in goal is critical.
With a condensed 56-game schedule, and the omnipresent threat of COVID-19 hanging over the entire league, having a deep depth chart between the pipes is a must. It's no accident that goalies have been getting claimed at a high rate on the waiver wire.

So when the Islanders were looking for a third goalie to play behind Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin, Islanders President and GM Lou Lamoriello turned to a familiar face in Cory Schneider, a 12-year vet who spent the past seven seasons with the New Jersey Devils.
"This year anything could happen with COVID," Schneider said during a Zoom call on Wednesday. "All it takes is close contact and you're out for a week. Lou really wanted that third guy to be able to step in right away and hopefully with my experience, not need a lot of game action to get in a rhythm and feel good."
That theory was nearly tested in the Islanders' second game of the season on Saturday.
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Schneider was up in the suite level of Madison Square Garden when Varlamov took a puck to the mouth during warmups, knocking him out of the game. Schneider double-timed it downstairs, got dressed and found himself on the Islanders bench approximately 25 minutes later.
He didn't play in the game, but had the Islanders suffered a second injury in goal, there's something reassuring about having a veteran of 400 games step in, as opposed to an emergency backup.
That's the type of stability Lamoriello and co. were looking for when they acquired Schneider, who was tied for the second-highest SV% (.924) in the NHL from 2013-16 - among goalies with 100 games - before a spell of injuries derailed his career. As for the goaltender, he was looking for a stable situation of his own after being bought out by New Jersey in October, and a place to get his game and career back on track.
"[It was a] mutual decision and to come here," Schneider said. "It just seemed like a good place for me to come and try to get my game back on track."
Long Island was an appealing destination for a variety of reasons for Schneider. There was his familiarity with Lamoriello and former Devils captain Andy Greene - whom he carpooled with to Long Island prior to the season - and the proximity to New Jersey, where he and his family still live.
Perhaps most importantly, Schneider saw how the Islanders' goaltending department - Director of Goaltending Mitch Korn and Goaltending Coach Piero Greco - had developed three different netminders over the past two seasons. Schneider jumped at the chance to work with an esteemed group.
"You look at the last few years how [Robin] Lehner, Thomas Griess and how Varly have come in - all very good goalies in their own right before they got here - and the success they've had being a part of this system," Schneider said. "It was encouraging and appealed to me in terms of making decisions."

While he hasn't played a game in 10 months - the longest stretch of his career - he's seeing some of the benefits of working with Korn and Greco daily.
"This is where I want to try and get my career back on track and get an opportunity to correct some things," Schneider said. "They've pointed out a few things to me just off the bat that he thinks can improve my game and help. Nothing crazy, but some lateral movements, being square to the puck and not getting too flat as guys move laterally… Just some little notes that aren't trying to reinvent the way I play, but just trying to keep me up to speed with how fast the game is and how quick it's evolving."
Head Coach Barry Trotz, who spoke last week about how a lack of depth and experience in goal sunk his Nashville Predators squad in 2013-14, said Schneider brings "a wealth of experience." Trotz is confident Korn and Greco can help the 34-year-old succeed at this stage of his career, especially in wake of two injury-plagued seasons that limited Schneider to 34 total NHL games.
"The wear and tear of his game got [him] injured and it takes a while for a player to get back," Trotz said. "The way Cory played at 25 will be a little different at 35, your body is different, the game has changed… It does take a while, but you do need the physical components and recognize your limitations as you get older."
"The one area I think Cory can benefit the most is having the experience of Mitch and Piero," Trotz added. "The mental part that component can be really valuable for Cory in getting his game to the level that he's capable of still playing at. I think he's in a really good spot with us and in good hands with both of our goaltending coaches."

Schneider said it's been an easy transition to the Islanders' organization. There hasn't been a lot of cross-pollination between the Islanders and Devils over the past seven years, so Schneider admittedly didn't know a lot of the team prior to signing. He said Greene's helped him get acclimated - and navigate some uniquely 2020 problems.
"Just to have Andy in those first couple of weeks, just [to find out] how it works and operates and how things are," Schneider said. "Even trainer's names and equipment guys, just making sure I've got everyone straight cause it's tough with all of the masks on to put faces to names. Good to have him around to lean on."
Greene, who knows Schneider well from their Devils days, said the Islanders acquired a quality teammate when they signed the goaltender.
"Great teammate," Greene said. "Very close, our families are very close. We lived in the same building there for a few years, carpooled together, we've gone on all-star and bye week trips together as families and just a great, great person and a great teammate and we're fortunate to have him here too now."
With two games vs the Devils coming up on Thursday and Sunday, this week has caused for some reflection for Schneider, who spoke affectionately about his time in New Jersey. Schneider spent seven seasons there, and is second on the franchise's goalie games chart (311). Barring health issues, he likely won't play in either game, but even if he doesn't play, he's excited for a new chapter in his career with the Islanders.
"It's never easy to say goodbye to people you've been with for so long, teammates, staff, other people you meet along the way," Schneider said on Wednesday. "That was unfortunate. Things happen, it's part of the game and sometimes change is good… I'm excited to be here and be with these guys."