The most important piece of the Manitoba Moose puzzle has arrived.
As critical as it will be for a guy like Marty Murray to drive the offence and for the revamped defence to help make up for some of the lost weapons, the news that goalie Cory Schneider is coming back down to the minors for additional seasoning was greeted with a rousing ovation at Moose headquarters.
It's not that Scott Arniel and company didn't want Schneider to graduate to the next level, it's that they understand having the reigning American Hockey League goalie of the year between the pipes immediately bolsters their chances of returning to the Calder Cup final.
Bail us out
"Everybody knows that you need a strong goaltender to have success in any league that you play in," said Arniel. "He allows us to play a very up-tempo, offensive type of game. Knowing that if we get caught in an odd-man situation, he's there to bail us out."
We're not saying the Moose are going to be the favourite this season -- it's far too early to tell how these pieces are going to come together -- but with Schneider back for a third full season, there is little doubt the Moose will be a contender.
Schneider invested a lot of energy and effort into preparing for the battle for the back-up job with veteran Andrew Raycroft and after a pretty good training camp, the pride of Marblehead, Mass., had a tough finish to the pre-season, giving up nine goals in two starts with the parent Vancouver Canucks.
It would only be natural that news of the demotion would come as a disappointment for Schneider, but to suggest it will affect his play long-term would be foolish.
Schneider is mature beyond his years and understands his situation perfectly.
With Roberto Luongo locked in long-term as the franchise goalie, Schneider is auditioning to the 29 other franchises.
Although Raycroft won the backup battle, the truth is that Schneider is much better served for the present -- and the future -- by being down with the Moose and carrying the load.
"I want to get 50 or 60 games in here," said Schneider. "My first year I only got 36 and last year I got 40. Just to be that workhorse and bring it every single night.
"I'm excited to come back and try to be a dominant goaltender again."
While the paycheque is much better at the NHL-level, Schneider fully understands there are things he needs to work on to get himself to The Show on a full-time basis.
There could be some anxious moments in Moose-land around the March NHL trade deadline as Schneider will be one of their best bargaining chips, but we believe the Canucks could maximize the trade value by moving him before the NHL draft in June instead.
Some might say Schneider has nothing more to prove in the AHL, but that's not entirely accurate either.
Falling short in the Calder Cup final will be something that drives Schneider to get better.
And it's not like Schneider is going to need to steal the show on a nightly basis for the Moose this season either.
Having Schneider back for another season is bigger than any free agent signing they could have brought in.
The AHL season begins Friday at the MTS Centre, and it's where Schneider will begin the challenge of building on his remarkable 2008-09 campaign.
It says here, Schneider will find a way to get it done.
ken.wiebe@sunmedia.ca
