Declaring your team's most important player is not a simple thing. It's not always the most valuable guy or the highest points producer. It is the player who makes your team go; the one you can't afford to lose, even if all he contributes can't be measured by fancy stats.
Devils' Most Important Player: Cory Schneider, goaltender
It is a bit ghastly to imagine what the New Jersey Devils' record would have looked like had it not been for some pretty stellar play from starting goaltender Cory Schneider. Had he backstopped a better team, he would’ve garnered Vezina Trophy consideration.
In his first season since future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur abdicated the throne, Schneider was an absolute workhorse, playing in 69 games and providing a steadiness that is betrayed by his 26-31-9 record. The 29-year-old saw the third-most shots (1,982) and made the third-most saves (1,834) of any goaltender in the league and ranked in the top 10 in both save percentage (fifth, .925) and goals-against average (ninth, 2.26).
This summer was rife with change for the Devils, most notably the shocking departure of president Lou Lamoriello. Lamoriello stepped aside to make way for Ray Shero as the team’s new general manager in May and left his role as team president to take a GM job with the Toronto Maple Leafs in July. AHL up-and-comer John Hynes was tabbed as the new head coach, replacing the triumvirate of Lamoriello, Scott Stevens and Adam Oates that was installed behind the bench following Peter DeBoer’s midseason dismissal. With all this turnover, continuity in net should go a long way for a Devils team aiming to get back to the playoffs.
Veteran graybeard Jaromir Jagr might have been the heart and soul of the Devils last season -- he has since moved south to join the Florida Panthers -- but Schneider was the backbone of this Devils team, and he will continue to be for the 2015-16 season.
New Jersey was a franchise built on defensive structure and a smothering style of play, though the team gave up way too much on a nightly basis last season; the Devils ranked 24th in shots against per game, with 30.7, and they were middle of the pack in goals against per game, with 2.55. A big part of that was Schneider bailing the Devils out consistently. If the team can put some offense together, the outlook in New Jersey becomes much brighter.
