Schneider's agent noncommittal on extension with Devils

NJ.com has an excellent Q&A with New Jersey Devils goaltender Cory Schneider's agent, Mike Liut, in which he's asked about a potential contract extension for his client from every possible angle. Great series of questions and thoughtful - although relatively noncommittal - answers.

In a nutshell, the situation is that Schneider has one season left on his three-year, $12 million deal from when he was with the Vancouver Canucks. The Devils can't actually sign Schneider to an extension until July 1.

Martin Brodeur will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and nobody, including Brodeur, know where he'll end up. He has said he'll test free agency, but hasn't ruled out staying with the Devils.

Liut, on if New Jersey is the place for Schneider long-term: “I think Cory will be a very good goalie in the National Hockey League and a quality starting goalie in the National Hockey League for the next 10 years. How that unfolds and where the twists and turns lie is anybody’s guess. I think all players want a chance to win at some point. Everybody wants to find the highest level with the understanding that you’ll settle into a role some place. In society today, we’re much more mobile and things don't stay the same, and so it is with athletes. To that end, when you go back the last couple decades, 200 or 300 players get traded every year and free agency adds another dimension to it where the player gets to choose.”

Liut, on what Schneider will seek, aside from money: “You look for stability. First of all, there's the opportunity that somebody says, ‘You're our starting goalie.’ That carries a lot of weight. No. 2, the stability of the organization, the direction of the organization is going to go to, etc., etc., etc. Yes, players are going to make decisions when they're unrestricted. It is what it is. Some players want to stay in an area and other players want to leave and go to a different area for a variety of reasons. Anybody who plays in the National Hockey League and it comes to that position in life and they get to choose, that's a very powerful moment. It's a significant moment in time because you never got to choose since you went to college. That's the last time you got to choose. And if you played junior, you never got to choose. So with that, you don’t take that lightly.”

Source: Randy Miller, NJ.com

Related: Schneider on contract talks, possible Brodeur return

Related: Brodeur headed to free agency

Related: Brodeur on legacy; playing for Sens, Wild, Pens or Habs.