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New Jersey Devils: Cory Schneider Snubbed In Vezina Voting |
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Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
The finalists for the Vezina Trophy were announced on Wednesday night and New Jersey Devils goaltender Cory Schneider was not among them.
While I'm not entirely surprised Schneider wasn't recognized for his efforts that doesn't make the decision any less wrong. By all accounts Schneider was one of the very best goaltenders last season and the numbers back that up.
View post on imgur.com
As you can see Schneider is 2nd among that group in save percentage, 2nd in high-danger save percentage, 2nd in goals against average and leads the pack in quality start percentage.
Braden Holtby, the odds on favorite to win the award, finished 3rd, 3rd, 3rd and 2nd respectively. Sure he had a ton of wins, but he played behind a defensively sound team that also finished 2nd in the league in goals. He was excellent, no doubt, but he didn't have the best numbers despite the best supporting cast among Vezina finalists (and Schneider).
I'm not picking on Holtby - he is fantastic - but rather pointing out just how good Schneider was last season. He kept a team many had penciled in for a top-3 pick in playoff position until late in the season and when he went down with an injury the Devils folded like a tent at the end of a camping trip.
I'm not suggesting Schneider should win the Vezina, although a case can be made, but, by all accounts, his name should have been in the conversation for the award.
If not anything else it would have been nice to see a great goaltender recognized for a great season.
There's always next year, I guess,
Note: numbers via War-On-Ice.com and Hockey-Reference.com.
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