alrighty then.
Team Toe Blake rounds out it's defense with
Mathieu Schneider
Drafted in the third round of the
1987 NHL Entry Draft, 44th overall, by the
Montreal Canadiens, Schneider was the Canadiens' fourth pick (after forwards
Andrew Cassels and
John LeClair, and fellow defenseman
Ιric Desjardins). He played his first
NHL game a few months later when he suited up on
198788 opening night against the
Philadelphia Flyers. However, after four games, he was sent back to his
junior team (
Cornwall Royals) for the rest of the season. He would spend the entirety of
198889 with Cornwall before splitting the next season between Montreal and their
American Hockey League farm team, the
Sherbrooke Canadiens. After being promoted to the Canadiens, he scored seven goals and 21 points in 44 games with Montreal.
Schneider earned a full-time NHL roster spot in the
199091 season and, two years later, he won the
1993 Stanley Cup with the Canadiens, defeating
Wayne Gretzky and the
Los Angeles Kings in five games. Following his Stanley Cup victory, Schneider broke out with 52 points in
199394, topping all team defencemen.
During the the 199495 sesaon, Schneider was traded to the
New York Islanders finishing the season with 29 points in 43 games between the two clubs. In 1995-96, he recorded 47 points in 65 games with the Islanders and appeared in his first
NHL All-Star Game (
1996), before being traded in March 1996 to the
Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for three players and a first round selection in the
1997 NHL Entry Draft (eventually
Roberto Luongo).
[1] He finished the year with 54 points in 78 games between the two clubs.
Prior to the
199697 season, Schneider was a member of the
1996 World Cup champion
Team USA squad. It was his high point for the season as he suffered a serious groin injury and was lost for the majority of the season, playing only 26 games.
[1] He returned to the Leafs from his injury the following season and tallied 37 points in 76 games. He was a contract-hold out as a
restricted free agent prior to the
199899 season, reportedly seeking a $3.3 million salary with the Maple Leafs. Consequently, a few games into the season, the Maple Leafs traded him to the
New York Rangers where he then signed a one-year, $2.75 million contract. Born in
Manhattan, Schneider stated his excitement to be playing for his hometown team.
[2] In two seasons with the Rangers he accumulated 34, then 30 points.