the 4th star

Cory Schneider can’t be too happy with his situation right now.

Another trade deadline has come and gone and once again, the young goaltending prospect for the Manitoba Moose if left wondering what all the talk was about. He’s gone through this a few times now, wondering (hoping) he would get moved to another organization that didn’t have Roberto Luongo locked up for the next 12 years or so. His comments on the radio were so sad Tuesday afternoon; he was practically asking Brian Munz to tell him that he’s been traded.

The problem is: I don’t think there’s much of a chance he’ll go anywhere. Not without forcing the issue.

See, Schneider is in a tough spot in his career. As mentioned he’s behind Luongo in the Canucks system, which means he’ll have no chance of finding any time in a National Hockey League crease. You won’t find a better place to play in the American Hockey League than Winnipeg, but the reality is that he’s pretty much stuck here or on the bench behind the No. 1 guy upstairs. Now you would think that would make him a candidate for a potential trade option and you’d be right in that assessment. The Canucks feel he is an NHL-calibre goaltender and want more value coming back the other way than Schneider has shown. The problem is that he just won’t find the required minutes at the highest level to provide the evidence of that high opinion Vancouver has of him. Unless Luongo gets hurt. This rarely happens, as you know.

So the Canucks have a guy who they think is a No. 1 NHL netminder, but they can’t play him in the NHL right now, and are demanding a No. 1 NHL netminder return through trade.

The Canucks did take a few calls on Schneider today and, as you might expect, general manager Mike Gillis did not see enough on the table to warrant a deal. Just like last year. Just like at the draft. Just like for the rest of Schneider’s career. Or so it seems. Meanwhile, the Canucks will head into another post season without pulling the trigger on a move to get some veteran depth up front or a little more help on the back end (Alberts is a disaster) – two areas of need that would probably cost them an unproven player like Schneider. Hell, they probably get a player and a second-round pick.

I have no information on the this, but here’s betting Schneider requests a trade in the summer. He’s not the personality type to make such a power play move but at this point, even he can see the flawed logic the Canucks have with him and his prospects.