Schneider, a New York City native, played for 10 NHL teams during a career that spanned 21 seasons. He won the Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1992-93 and the World Cup of Hockey with the United States in 1996.
The Canadiens selected Schneider, a defenseman, in the third round (No. 44) of the 1987 NHL Draft after his first season with Cornwall of the Ontario Hockey League. He made the Canadiens roster out of training camp that fall but was returned to Cornwall after four games.
Schneider, a New York City native, played for 10 NHL teams during a career that spanned 21 seasons. He won the Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1992-93 and the World Cup of Hockey with the United States in 1996.
The Canadiens selected Schneider, a defenseman, in the third round (No. 44) of the 1987 NHL Draft after his first season with Cornwall of the Ontario Hockey League. He made the Canadiens roster out of training camp that fall but was returned to Cornwall after four games.
Schneider became a full-time NHL player in 1990. He scored 13 goals and finished with 44 points in 1992-93, then played 11 games during Montreal's run to the Cup and scored a goal and an assist in a five-game victory against the Los Angeles Kings in the Final.
But after becoming a 20-goal scorer in 1993-94, the Canadiens traded Schneider to the New York Islanders on April 7, 1995. He never again played more than three full seasons with the same team despite being one of the NHL's most consistently productive defensemen.
Schneider was selected to the NHL All-Star Game for the first time in 1996, but the Islanders traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 13, 1996. Before the 1996-97 season, Schneider scored two goals in seven games to help the U.S. win the World Cup of Hockey against Canada in the best-of-3 final. But he was limited to 25 regular-season games because of a groin injury.
Schneider bounced back with 11 goals and 37 points in 1997-98 and was then traded to the New York Rangers. He scored 10 goals in each of his two seasons with New York, signed with the Kings on Aug. 14, 2000 and scored 37 goals in two-plus seasons before being traded to the Detroit Red Wings on March 11, 2003.
Though he was approaching his 34th birthday when he arrived in Detroit, Schneider enjoyed the best offensive stretch of his career with the Red Wings. He scored 14 goals and 46 points in 2003-04, then had NHL career highs of 21 goals and 59 points in 2005-06. But after scoring 11 goals and 52 points in 2006-07, Schneider was on the move again in the summer of 2007, signing as a free agent with the Anaheim Ducks.
Schneider ended up playing with five teams over his final three NHL seasons. He had four assists in eight games for the Phoenix Coyotes in 2009-10 and finished his career with 743 points (223 goals, 520 assists) in 1,289 games, as well as 54 points (11 goals, 43 assists) in 114 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- OHL First All-Star Team (1988, 1989)
- Played in NHL All-Star Game (1996, 2003)
- Traded to NY Islanders by Montreal with Kirk Muller and Craig Darby for Pierre Turgeon and Vladimir Malakhov, April 5, 1995.
- Traded to Toronto by NY Islanders with Wendel Clark and D.J. Smith for Darby Hendrickson, Sean Haggerty, Kenny Jonsson and Toronto's 1st round pick (Roberto Luongo) in 1997 NHL Draft, March 13, 1996.
- Missed majority of 1996-97 due to groin injury vs. St. Louis, December 27, 1996.
- Rights traded to NY Rangers by Toronto for Alexander Karpovtsev and NY Rangers' 4th round pick (Mirko Murovic) in 1999 NHL Draft, October 14, 1998.
- Claimed by Columbus from NY Rangers in Expansion Draft, June 23, 2000.
- Signed as a free agent by Los Angeles, August 14, 2000.
- Traded to Detroit by Los Angeles for Sean Avery, Maxim Kuznetsov, Detroit's 1st round pick (Jeff Tambellini) in 2003 NHL Draft and Detroit's 2nd round pick (later traded to Boston, Boston selected Martins Karsums) in 2004 NHL Draft, March 11, 2003.
- Signed as a free agent by Anaheim, July 1, 2007.
- Traded to Atlanta by Anaheim for Ken Klee, Brad Larsen and Chad Painchaud, September 26, 2008.
- Traded to Montreal by Atlanta with Atlanta's 3rd round pick (Joonas Nattinen) in 2009 NHL Draft for Anaheim's 2nd round pick (previously acquired, Atlanta selected Jeremy Morin) in 2009 NHL Draft and Montreal's 3rd round pick (Julian Melchiori) in 2010 NHL Draft, February 16, 2009.
- Signed as a free agent by Vancouver, August 28, 2009.
- Traded to Phoenix by Vancouver for Sean Zimmerman and Phoenix's 6th round pick (Alex Friesen) in 2010 NHL Draft, March 3, 2010.