New Jersey Notes: Schneider, Zacha, Henrique

Up until this past year, the New Jersey Devils’ goalie Cory Schneider has been one of the top goaltenders in the NHL. Then with the help of one of the worst defenses in the league, Schneider saw his performances drop badly last year. The 31-year-old veteran posted a 1.97 GAA in 45 games in his first year in New Jersey in 2013-14. He followed that up with a 2.26 in 69 games and then a 2.15 GAA in 58 games in 2015-16. His play during those years was often what kept the Devils competitive.

Last year’s 2.82 GAA does not seem to be indicative of the career the netminder has had up to now. Yet, NBC Sports Adam Gretz writes that this will be a pivotal year for the goaltender who is under pressure to prove that last year was a fluke. His .908 save percentage was not only a career-worst, but also one of the worst in the league. There were even rumblings the Devils should trade the veteran goaltender, but even with their offensive additions of Marcus Johansson and first-overall pick Nico Hischier, the team is not likely to score enough goals.

A bounce-back season is needed to re-establish his identity, otherwise the $30MM the team still owes him over the next five years will likely haunt instead.

• The Devils have high hopes that prospect Pavel Zacha is ready for a breakout season this year, writes Gretz in a separate piece. The 20-year-old wing who was the sixth-overall pick in 2015, is coming off his first full season in the NHL. While his eight goals and 16 assists were modest in his first year, the team believes Zacha could have a big year. After struggling in the first half of the season last year with just seven points in 37 games, he showed improvement in the second half, putting up 17 points in the final 33 games. And with the injury to Travis Zajac who is expected to miss the next four to six months, the team may look to Zacha to fill the void as the 20-year-old played both center and wing for the team last year.
• While there was talk of possibly moving center Adam Henrique to the wing position to make room for some of the young centers like Hischier and Zacha, the injury to Zacha guarantees that Henrique will stay in the middle, writes Jesse Kinney of the Hockey Writers.