So long Matt

In the new day and age of the NHL its safe to say that no players are long term anymore or jersey worthy....meaning no longer will you have to buy a jersey with a certain players name and number on it, your better off getting your favorite number with your name on it, it will last a lot longer. See below for...we lost another one.

From NHL.com

Schneider supplies offense, insurance to Ducks
Shawn P. Roarke | NHL.com Senior Writer Jul 1, 2007, 7:47 PM EDT



Uncertain about defenseman Scott Niedermayer's long term plans, the Anaheim Ducks signed Mathieu Schneider as an insurance policy.
It appears the Anaheim Ducks are pretty uncertain about defenseman Scott Niedermayer's long-term plans, as well.
On Sunday's first day of NHL free agency, the Stanley Cup champion Ducks swooped in and made a surprising offer to Mathieu Schneider, one of the best offensive defenseman on the open market this year. The 38-year-old Schneider, who has played the past three-plus seasons in Detroit and had 11 goals and 52 points in 68 regular-season games last season, signed a two-year deal to join the Ducks.
For Brian Burke, the Ducks’ GM, such indecision on the part of Niedermayer necessitated an aggressive approach in free agency.
"Scott Niedermayer has informed me that he is leaning toward retirement," Burke said in a statement. "Typical of his character and leadership, he made the call this morning in order to allow us to make alternative plans in the event he does not return.
”Although he has not retired and would be welcomed back, we felt adding another top NHL defenseman was critical to defending our championship. Mathieu Schneider fits into that category and will be a great addition to our team."
Schneider is one of the few players in the League who can run the point in the offensive zone as effectively as Niedermayer, who told Anaheim management that he is contemplating retirement in the wake of Anaheim's Cup triumph, which made Niedermayer, the Ducks’ captain, the only four-time Stanley Cup champion active in the NHL. Niedermayer claimed three Cups with New Jersey between 1995 and 2003.
Schneider has also won hockey's most coveted title, helping Montreal to the crown in 1993. This season, he helped the Red Wings get deep into the playoffs before breaking his wrist in the final game of the second-round victory against San Jose. Schneider missed all six games of the Western Conference Finals, a series, ironically, that the Red Wings lost to Anaheim just before the Ducks went on to beat Ottawa in five contests to earn that franchise's first title.
If Niedermayer, who earned the Conn Smythe Trophy for his playoff excellence this spring, decides to return for another season, the Ducks will have the deepest defense in the League.
Aside from Niedermayer, who won the Norris Trophy for the 2003-04 season, the Ducks also feature Chris Pronger, another elite defenseman and former Norris Trophy winner. Francois Beauchemin has blossomed faster than anyone expected and proved this season that he is capable of handling as many important minutes as coach Randy Carlyle sees fit. Veteran stay-at-home Defender Sean O'Donnell, meanwhile, was signed to a contract extension earlier this month.
If Schneider joins the Ducks with that top-four group intact, Anaheim will have a roster of defensemen that will be the envy of the League's other 29 teams.
If Niedermayer decides to retire, Schneider will be asked to take over the offensive reigns of a club that has serious designs on defending its hard-fought crown.
At 38, and with 18 years of NHL experience, Schneider is still among the elite defenseman when it comes to moving the puck in transition, playing the point in the attack zone and quarterbacking the power play.
In 1,132 regular-season games, Schneider has 200 goals and 443 assists. He is a plus-50 for his career and has not been a minus player since finishing the 1999-2000 season with the New York Rangers -- when he played to a minus-6 rating in 80 appearances for a non-playoff team.
Schneider has also been effective in the postseason, appearing in 103 total playoff games. He has nine goals and 43 assists in his playoff career. More importantly, Schneider has played more than half of his playoff games -- 53 of 103 -- by qualifying for the postseason in each of the past six seasons and getting out of the first round on three different occasions.

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