WINNIPEG — My late mother, Sarah, used to tell a story in Yiddish of a king stopping a commoner in the street and asking him where he was going. The latter refused to answer, and before long, the king warned him that he would be jailed if he didn’t co-operate. Steadfast in his convictions, the commoner again declined and was summarily locked up.
Days later, the king, still curious, visited him in his cell and said if he would only explain why he refused to answer such a simple question he would immediately be set free. At that juncture, the man explained it was improper to lie to his highness because when someone sets out to go somewhere, he never really knows if he will ever arrive. “I was only going to the butcher shop to buy some bones to make a chicken soup for my family,” he said. “How was I to know I would end up in jail?”
I thought of my mother’s fable in early January when the Manitoba Moose received a belated Chanukah present. Jewish defenceman Mathieu Schneider, whose prime goal was to play in Vancouver, unexpectedly ended up in Winnipeg.
Last summer, Schneider became an unrestricted free agent following a split season between Montreal and Atlanta. He allegedly had a half-dozen offers in the off-season to sign a one-year contract with a new NHL team. The 40-year-old, who has played with nine different clubs under the big top, noted when he signed a $1.5-million (US) pact, that Vancouver was far and away his preferred choice for him, his wife, Shannon and their four kids. Being a good family man, chosing Vancouver was a slam dunk. At least it appeared that way.
Schneider worked all summer rehabilitating his injured shoulder, and was prepared to use his considerable skills as the quarterback on the Canucks’ powerplay. He appeared to be a perfect match for the Canucks. After all, the NHL veteran’s point totals (223 goals and 516 assists) resemble those of a decent forward rather than a defenceman.
Well, something went wrong on the way to the butcher shop. It appears Schneider didn’t see eye-to-eye with former Moose head coach Alain Vigneault in Vancouver, and the rearguard, a veteran of 1,281 regular season NHL games, didn’t see much ice time either. Spending 25 of 42 games as a scratch created the kind of itch that can lead to unpleasant dialogue between employee and management. And it did.
Reports from the West Coast media explained that Schneider left the team on Dec. 18, was put on waivers, and nary an NHL team went for the bait. Was it because of his salary, or the feeling he doesn’t have much to offer at the price? Or perhaps it was thought he could be had at a bargain-basement price at the March 3 trade deadline.
When, upon his arrival, Schneider appeared at a press conference at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg where the Moose play, he was all smiles. There were queries of course and, not surprisingly, more information was sought about his latest interactions with Canucks’ management than how his presence might help the Moose track down the division-leading Hamilton Bulldogs.
But Schneider was diplomatic. “I just want to have some fun, get out there and play the game I love. That’s pretty much it,” he said.
From most reports, his marriage with the Canucks ended when Schneider was not prepared to accept Vigneault’s role for him, which was more limited than the ex-NHLer wanted. The head coach also reportedly stated he has no interest in having Schneider return to his club – a remark that is especially poignant since Kevin Bieksa, a former Moose defender, is now a badly injured Canuck and won’t likely suit up again for at least two months.
Should matters deteriorate along the Canucks’ blueline, there is always the likelihood of a red alert, and player and coach may hug and make up for the good of the team. In short, the most talented defenceman seen in these parts since 1995 when the Jets were kidnapped to Phoenix may have a fairly limited stay in Winnipeg.
Of all the Jewish players who used to come to town during Winnipeg’s exposure to the NHL, Schneider is the one with whom I am most familiar. I would talk with him in the visiting team’s dressing room when he played for the Canadiens and the Islanders between 1989 and 1995.
He talked about his ethnic background and how he related to other Jewish players in the league, namely Calgary’s tough guy Ron Stern, Chicago’s Steve Dubinsky, Steve Richmond of the LA Kings, and enforcer Mike Hartman of the Jets. He conceded there was a bond that they shared.
Synagogue on the High Holidays was important to his family and something that his own father stressed as important.
Hopefully, Schneider will get what he no doubt wants most, and that’s a return to the NHL – if not with the Canucks then with another team that requires the contributions of a skilled and savvy player who can still blast them from the point on the powerplay and teach the rookies how to play the game.
It would be a surprise if the highest-scoring Jewish player in the history of the game will find himself celebrating Passover in late March in Mooseland.