I think I can speak for all New Jersey Devils’ fans when I say that the Martin Brodeur era has appeared to have come to an end in the Garden State. Do not get me wrong, Marty has always been the face of this franchise, and whether he retires this offseason, or he explores an opportunity with another suitor via free agency, New Jersey will always be his home, and the fans will always be eternally grateful for what he has done for this organization. But let’s be honest, I do not see him in a Devils’ sweater come October. Do you?
If you answered no to the above question like I did, then one must naturally look ahead to who will fill Marty’s gap between the pipes. The obvious choice is Cory Schneider, who much to the surprise (and delight) of many Devils’ fans, was acquired from Vancouver by fearless leader, Lou Lamoriello, during the 2013 NHL Draft last June.
Schneider started 43 games in net for the Devils this past season, tallying a record of 16 wins, 15 losses and 12 overtime losses (thanks to the Devils’ continued shootout woes). He posted a GAA (Goals Against Average) of 1.97 with a save percentage of 0.921 during the 2013-14 campaign.
Since signing Jaromir Jagr to a one-year extension to remain with the club on April 30th, 2014, it has been very clearly stated by Lou Lamoriello himself that the next task at hand is to sign Schneider to a multi-year contract extension.
Lamoriello recently told New Jersey’s Star Ledger that “realistically and logically you would not make the trade that we (the Devils) did at the draft if we didn’t have every intention of having Cory long-term.” There you have it Devils’ fans, feel free to breathe a sigh of relief right? Because we all know how the old adage goes, “In Lou We Trust”.
So once resigned to a long-term contract (still crossing my fingers though), Schneider cannot start every game in net for the Devils can he? While fans would like to think he could, it should be apparent that it is simply not possible for any goaltender to handle 82 games a year. At the point one must ask who will back up Schneider in New Jersey next season?
I only have one person in mind and I truly think he is the right fit for the job – Keith Kinkaid. At 24 years of age, the Union College product, Keith Kinkaid, has been in the Devils’ organization for the past three seasons with Albany of the American Hockey League. The 2013-14 campaign was Kinkaid’s best season yet, where he posted 24 wins, including 3 shutouts, and only 13 regulation losses, with a GAA of 2.29 and save percentage of 0.912. During his tenure with the organization, Kinkaid has made one appearance with the “big boys” so to speak, when he stopped 12 of the 13 shots he faced against the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 5th, 2013. In my eyes, Keith Kinkaid is the obvious choice to back up Cory Schneider for the foreseeable future, and I truly hope that Lou Lamorielo agrees with me there.
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