Devils goaltender Cory Schneider will be stopping a lot more pucks for the red and white in the years to come.

Just another quiet summer afternoon turned into a pivotal day for the New Jersey Devils, given that just over two hours ago GM Lou Lamoriello announced the team has signed goaltender Cory Schnieder to a long-term extension for seven years and $42 million dollars (AAV: $6 million).  With one more year left on his current deal at $4.5 million (cap hit of $4 million), Schnieder’s extension can ensure he stays in a Devils jersey until age 36.

“The first word that comes is excitement,” Schneider said. “I’m excited to be a New Jersey Devil for a long time, hopefully the rest of my career. It hasn’t quite sunk in yet, but it’s something that both Mr. Lamoriello and the ownership and myself, it’s something we all wanted to get done. They were very serious about it, which was great.

“We didn’t go back and forth too much. I think we were both on the same page and we wanted to do something that was good for both of us and to see that kind of commitment and belief in me was good for me to see and made the decision all that much easier.”

Schnieder’s well-chronicled saga over the last few years finally appears to be over as this deal makes clear he’s the heir to the crease that’s been occupied by Martin Brodeur for two decades.  Despite his travails dealing with the Roberto Luongo mess in Vancouver followed by last year’s ups and downs, Schnieder’s goaltending numbers have been superb to this point – putting up a 71-41-20 record in 143 career games with a 2.12 GAA, .925 save percentage and 12 shutouts.  Although last season’s record wasn’t what anyone hoped for (16-15-12) he still was outstanding for the most part, putting up a 1.97 GAA and .921 save percentage, including some key wins down the stretch to keep a fading Devils team alive.

While it was important for Cory to get financial and job security (his deal also includes a NTC), it was equally important for the Devils to re-sign him given both the top ten pick in 2013 they gave up to acquire him, and the fact that Brodeur for the first time in over two decades is not under contract and will likely not return.  Marty himself admitted that last year wasn’t ideal and that the Devils needed to be Cory’s team going forward.  Comments Cory himself alluded to in today’s conference call:

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Marty as I think everyone does who’s met him or played with him,” Schneider said. “In spite of what may or may not have happened on the ice in terms of playing time, etcetera, he and I always got along. We had a good relationship and I think we respected each other. It’s tough to handle those scenarios if you don’t have that respect, but I think we did and that’s what made it easier to kind of split the games or play when we were supposed to play. To hear him say (the importance of the extension), it means a lot to me because he’s kind of passing his legacy on.”

Clearly this day was in the back of Lou’s mind when he made that now-pivotal deal at last year’s NHL Draft – with thousands of Devil fans in attendance at the Rock mouths collectively agape when the deal was announced, before the big roar went up.  Lou detailed why it was important for the Devils to both acquire and extend Cory:

“He’s someone that we’ve coveted for a number of years and watching his consistency and also knowing the character of him, that’s very important in a goaltender,” Lamoriello said. “You have to have a goaltender who players want to play in front of, who respect each other. And Cory has that from his teammates and vice versa. So, there are so many reasons for it.

It is pretty rare indeed when you’re able to replace a legend like Marty with a talent like Cory.  Of course next year will be Cory’s first in the NHL as the true #1, but that opportunity has clearly been earned.  And at least now Cory finally won’t have any shadows looming in the background every time he plays, and he can just focus on being a stabilizing force for a younger defense.  Also this time, the Devils don’t have to worry about losing yet another key asset for free in the prime of his career.