Veteran NHL goalie Cory Schneider announces his retirement

Former Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders goaltender Cory Schneider has officially retired from professional hockey at age 37.

Schneider had attempted a comeback the past couple seasons and did manage to play some excellent hockey for the Islanders' AHL affiliate Bridgeport Islanders, but his chronic hip issues prevented him from getting back to the NHL. Now, he's made the difficult decision to hang up his skates and pads for good.

Schneider walks away from the NHL with 171 wins in 410 starts, with his best season coming from about 2011 until his hip started nagging him around 2017. During his heydey with the Devils, he was arguably one of the best goalies in the NHL. His career best season came in 2014-15 when he put up a remarkable .925 save percentage in 69 games. Yowza...

“I’m at peace with it,” said Schneider to his hometown Salem News, based out of Salem, MA. “I’ll miss my teammates and the intensity of playing, but it’s the right time for me. If you had told me as a Marblehead High freshman that I’d play 16 years of professional hockey, I would’ve laughed in your face.”

The Marblehead, MA native will settle back in his home state for retirement, but he admitted that he's had great stops along the way in the NHL.

“New Jersey was a great place for my family and I. My kids were both born there, I had some great teammates, and it was a terrific place to play. Vancouver was the high point for me though,” Schneider said. “They drafted me (in the first round of the 2004 NHL Draft) and the organization had great people, I had great teammates, and we came within one game of brining the city its first Stanley Cup.”

Schneider is in no rush to find his next job though, saying he's looking forward to life as a full-time Dad.

“But right now, just being home and here for the kids will be great,” he said. “That way I can sort things out and see which way I’m leaning.

“I’ve followed the same hockey player’s schedule and grind for 16 years,” he added. “I’ve been very blessed to play this long, met some friends I’ll have for life — guys like Alex Edler, Chris Higgins, Andy Greene, Brian Boyle, Kyle Palmieri, Adam Henrique — and I’ve been fortunate to make some money while playing. I’ve had a lot of great memories in my career, that’s for sure. Which is great because there's not a big market in the NHL for 37-year-old goalies who haven’t played regularly in three years,” Schneider said tongue in cheek.