‘MAYBE WE’LL FIGHT’
It’s Schneider vs. Luongo again, but this time they’re both starting.
Maybe it’s time to settle this Roberto Luongo-Cory Schneider rivalry once and for all. In fact, Schneider has an idea. When the two goaltenders inevitably find themselves stretching near the centre line during Tuesday night’s pregame skate, he suggested they should do more than just exchange pleasantries.
“Maybe try to start a line brawl,” Schneider said Monday. “Maybe we’ll fight each other, disprove all the friendliness.”
That would be the perfect ending to what has been one of the best goaltending soap operas of all time. But it’s not going to happen. Schneider was joking Monday when he talked about duking it out with Luongo when he returns to Rogers Arena on Tuesday night with the New Jersey Devils.
Through all the craziness of the past couple of years, Luongo and Schneider became and remain good friends. They still talk regularly.
“I am obviously keeping tabs on him and seeing how he is doing,” Schneider told reporters at Rexall Place, where the Devils met the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night. “You don’t root for many guys outside your team, but he is a guy that I hope the best for just because of the kind of player and person he is. He is someone I think is easy to root for. Not on Tuesday night. But again, we are still friendly and we try to support each other.”
A little more than three months after the stunning draft-day deal that rocked his professional life, Schneider did not seem to be in the mood to do a lot of reminiscing about his time with the Canucks or talk about his emotions in the wake of that trade. He is a New Jersey Devil now and is just fine with that.
“I haven’ t thought too much about [returning to Vancouver],” he said, with a straight face. “We have a big game [Monday night] … When we get there I’ll see how I feel, but right now I am not really thinking too much about it.”
Peter DeBoer, Schneider’s new coach, seemed to suggest otherwise, saying it took him no time to decide Schneider would start Tuesday night against the Canucks.
“When we got Cory and then I got the schedule it became a no-brainer,” DeBoer said. “I think you talk to any player and they want to play against their old team. There is a comfort level there with the personnel on the other side, with the arena, the environment and there is obviously motivation there.”
There is no question Schneider was comfortable in Vancouver. He had worked his way up through the organization, finally won the No. 1 job and signed a contract extension with the Canucks. Like nearly everyone else on the planet he was confident that it would be Luongo, not him, who would be dealt.
“Sure, I spent nine years in that organization, it’s a great city with a great fan base and I learned a lot about myself as a player and person there so I am sure I will look back fondly on it as we go on here,” he said. “But I am really enjoying my time in New Jersey.”
Schneider found out about the trade while he was watch- ing the draft on TV in his Boston apartment. A few moments later, his phone rang and it was Vancouver general manager Mike Gillis.
“It was short, professional,” Schneider said, describing that call. “He had things to do, he was busy, so he wished me luck and thanked me for what I did there. I thanked him and that was it.”
Schneider said he does not bear any grudges.
“Guys get traded all the time,” he said. “This is not the first time this has happened. I know a lot has been made of it. When it first happened it took a little while for it to sink in but once I got involved with the Devils organization and met the people and the players I felt right at home and I moved on.
“I moved on pretty quickly and am just fully invested in this team here. A lot has happened, but it has happened to a lot of guys so I’m not that special.”
Schneider went from being No. 1 in Vancouver to being the heir to veteran Martin Brodeur in New Jersey. He insisted he is okay with that and does not feel a sense of being betrayed by the Canucks.
“I have learned to never get frustrated, never get upset, it just does nothing,” he said. “It’s counter-productive. I think there had to be a resolution one way or another in Vancouver and this is it. It’s exiting to be on a new team, in a new conference, close to home. You are right there with New York City close by, so it’s a great place to live and I have been really impressed with the way they run their team so far. So I have not tried to think too much about it.”
Schneider said he doesn’t know what kind of emotions he will feel Tuesday night and suggested it is probably a good thing that the Devils’ visit is a quick one. After playing Monday night in Edmonton, they will be in Vancouver for fewer than 24 hours.
“I won’t have a whole lot of time to process things,” Schneider said. “I will probably be at the rink or my hotel room. Again, there are a lot of strong relationships in that organization — not only players, staff, management — but you can’t let that get in the way of a game. You have to win the game. Maybe at first, but once the puck drops, I’ll just be focused on beating him.”
Him, of course, is Luongo, who feels much the same way. Both players know Tuesday night’s game is being viewed as Luongo versus Schneider, not the Devils against the Canucks. Luongo seemed more at ease talking about Tuesday’s game than Schneider.
“They’re always fun, games like that,” Luongo said Sunday in Calgary. “They’re fun, it’s a challenge and I know if I want to win I’ve got to be perfect because he’s not going to make any mistakes and he’ll be jacked up.”
Luongo said he and Schneider have talked many times since the trade.
“We’re good friends,” he said. “Throughout this ordeal in the summertime we were always in touch, just to see what is going on and that kind of stuff and even though we are on different teams we still support each other. So that’s nice.”
So far, the subject of Tuesday night’s game has not come up in their conversations. That figures to change during the pre-game skate.
“I’m sure we’ll say hi, but again, he’s got a job to do and I’ve got a job to do,” Schneider said. “I think we are more focused on winning than everything else.”