In a draft day surprise, the Vancouver Canucks relieved their goaltending logjam
in a surprising manner.
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looks at the deal sending Cory Schneider to New Jersey. The Devils Get: G
Cory Schneider. Schneider, 27, has a save percentage of .931 over the last three
seasons, best among goaltenders with at least 75 games and was expected to be
the Vancouver Canucks goaltender of the future, but their inability to move out
Roberto Luongo and his sizeable contract, left a Schneider deal as the only
viable solution to Vancouvers financial and goaltending concerns. However, for a
variety of reasons, Schneider is a 27-year-old that has yet to play even 35
games in an NHL season and if hes going to be a top-tier starting goaltender,
its about time to take on a starters workload and maintain the high level of
play hes established in his limited NHL playing time. In New Jersey, the Devils
have Martin Brodeur, who has been the backbone of the franchise for nearly two
decades, but Brodeur has a .905 save percentage over the last three seasons,
which ranks 29th out of 31 goaltenders to have played at least 100 games, and
hes 41-years-old, so its entirely understandable that the Devils are looking to
upgrade. The question is how will the Devils allocate playing time next season?
Its the final year of Brodeurs contract and, based on recent play, Schneider has
to be the starter. If Schneider gets 55-60 games next year, that would leave
Brodeur with his fewest games played since 1991-1992 (though 29 games in a
lockout-shortened 2013 season is his lowest since too). Additionally, veteran
Johan Hedberg has another year left on his contract, at a $1.4-million cap hit,
and he struggled in 2012-2013 (posting an .883 save percentage), but Hedberg
could be moved to a team seeking a veteran backup goaltender though, at that
price, the Devils may need to eat some of the salary in order to make Hedberg a
more palatable option. Goaltending was such a problem last season for New
Jersey, a team that had some of the best possession numbers but also the
28th-ranked save percentage in the league, so its possible that Schneider could
solve that issue. New Jersey currently has tons of cap room, but is a team with
financial concerns and some high-profile pending free agents, including
Patrik Elias and David Clarkson. If they depart, that could affect those strong
possession stats going forward. Schneider is under contract for a couple more
seasons, at a cap hit of $4.0-million, leaving New Jersey with $9.9-million tied
in to three goalies. That may just be a short-term issue, since the Devils dont
appear to be a cap team for next season and both Brodeur and Hedberg are heading
into the final year of their respective contracts. So long as Schneider makes it
as a bona fide starting goaltender, the Devils have to be very happy with this
deal. The uncertainty of a ninth overall pick (from 1994-2008, six of 15 ninth
picks would be considered fringe NHLers or worse) makes the cost quite
reasonable for an established NHLer who still has a chance to be a star. The
Canucks Get: The ninth overall pick (used to take C Bo Horvat). Horvat is a
highly-regarded two-way player, who scored 33 goals and 61 points in 67 regular
season games for the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League, adding 16
goals and 23 points in 21 playoff games. Hes a two-way centre who had some
offensive upside and gives the Canucks some much-needed forward talent in the
organization. At the same time, Horvat isnt necessarily providing immediate
help. He could use time to improve his skating and a year of strong production
in the OHL may give him a better chance to make an impact when he does arrive in
the NHL. Provided he reconciles himself to the idea of returning to Vancouver,
Roberto Luongo should be back in line for 60-plus starts next season. In 20
games last season, Luongo had a .907 save percentage, his lowest since .904 in
1999-2000, his rookie season. With a .919 save percentage in 747 career games,
however, Luongo should be expected to play well as a starter for at least a few
more seasons. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and
followed on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out
TSN Fantasy on Facebook.
Swingman Rodney Hood Jersey . Following a
lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean
told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and
theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. That came on the heels
of Bryan Murray taking the unusual step of going into the locker room at the
Prudential Center and addressing the players himself.
Swingman Gordon Hayward Jersey . -- Charlie
Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm
6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action.
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. "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella
about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The
Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them
in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in
the Western Conference.Rafael Nadal resumes his challenge for the Rio Open title
with a second round clash against fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro. The world No
5 started the clay court tournament with a 6-1 6-4 win over another compatriot
Pablo Carreno Busta and will next face Almagro, live on Sky Sports. Rafael Nadal
advances to the second round of the Rio Open with victory over Pablo Carreno
Busta in severe weather condittions in Brazil Nadal has won all but one of their
previous 14 meetings, with Almagros sole victory coming in the quarter-finals of
the Barcelona Open in 2014.
Swingman John Stockton Jersey. But Almagro
has made a promising start to this years campaign and was a beaten finalist at
the recent Argentina Open, losing to Dominic Thiem. David Ferrer is yet to
suffer a defeat against Albert Ramos-Vinolas Second seed David Ferrer is also
involved in an all-Spanish battle against Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Ferrer has won
all five of his past matches against Ramos-Vinolas, including two victories last
year.Alexandr Dolgopolov takes to the court against Inigo Cervantes, while
qualifier Thiago Monteiro can follow-up his shock win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
when he plays Pablo Cuevas.Watch live action from the Rio Open, starting at
4.15pm on Sky Sports 3 Or watch from £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV. Also
See: No problem for Nadal Nadal seeks Rio boost Tennis on Sky Cowan: Rafa must
win in Rio
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