Trade talk? He’s heard it all

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This article was published 17/02/2012 (4978 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VANCOUVER — The speculation usually starts something like this:

Take Cory Schneider, add a young roster player, prime prospect and a high draft choice and the Vancouver Canucks can kick the tires hard on a major NHL trade deadline acquisition to strengthen their Stanley Cup pursuit. Or they could go into sticker shock and conclude that adding a depth forward and defenceman makes more sense for a management group loath to mess with the core.

Schneider could command even more at the NHL entry draft in those off-season makeover scenarios and by dealing the restricted free agent now, the Canucks run the risk of being vulnerable should Roberto Luongo sustain an injury.

Run all this by Schneider and it’s greeted with a shrug of the shoulders and a shake of the head.

A year ago, the Columbus Blue Jackets saw the stopper as a future fit because the struggling Steve Mason and unrestricted Mathieu Garon were not the answer. This season, Mason has been outplayed by Curtis Sanford, everybody has outplayed the sad-sack Blue Jackets and something may give with Rick Nash and Jeff Carter before the deadline or they, too, could command more in June. Add Pavel Kubina and Marek Zidlicky to the trade mix and deadline panels are turning into telethons. And the name they regularly churn out is Schneider.

“It’s hard to avoid it, it’s always on somewhere,” said Schneider. “We tend to ignore most of the speculation but it’s interesting to see who is going to strengthen themselves — a contender or a team we’re directly competing against with a guy like Rick Nash. That obviously has implications on us. We don’t follow it obsessively or believe every rumour we hear, but guys keep an eye out and see if we’re going to be active.

“For me, I just don’t think about it. I’ve got a job to do here and if I don’t do it, that probably eliminates possibilities of anything ever happening anyways. I enjoy it here. I’m not looking to get moved and I’m not asking for a trade by any means. If it’s a hockey decision, then it’s out of my control.”

Schneider doesn’t have to worry because his play has done the talking. He ranks sixth in save percentage (.928) and 11th in goals-against average (2.27) to go with a 12-5-0 record and back-to-back shutouts. Beyond that, Schneider’s thoughtful approach to a quirky profession is also attractive.

He can hold teams in games, hold his own in those giant media scrums and sell the game in any market. In a perfect world, Schneider would prefer to stay put but with Luongo’s long-term deal and improved play, Schneider understands the economics of the game better than most with a finance degree from Boston College. He knows you don’t cripple the core and camaraderie that got the Canucks to within a game of winning it all last June.

But you can’t sit still either in trying to improve while being at or near the salary cap ceiling and knowing the window to win it all will eventually shrink.

“This is a pretty tight room,” added Schneider. “We’ve forged an identity and a bond and we all believe in it and it would be great to keep everything together. But if management decides a change needs to be made in a little or big way, we’ll accept that, too.”

— Postmedia News