The New York Islanders have signed goaltender Cory Schneider, forward Nikita Soshnikov and defenseman Parker Wotherspoon to one-year deals.
Schneider made 30 appearances with the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders last season, posting a record of 14-11-4 with a 2.71 goals-against average and ranking fifth in the league with a .921 save percentage. Schneider also went 3-2 (2.35, .927) in six playoff games, helping Bridgeport to its first Calder Cup Playoff series victory since 2003.
In 191 career AHL games with Bridgeport, Binghamton and Manitoba, Schneider has gone 108-68-12 with a 2.46 GAA, a .917 save percentage and 13 shutouts. He won the Baz Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding goaltender in 2008-09, leading Manitoba to the Calder Cup Finals that season.
Selected by Vancouver in the first round of the 2004 NHL Draft, Schneider has appeared in 410 career NHL games with Vancouver, New Jersey and the Islanders, posting a record of 171-159-58 with a 2.43 GAA, a .918 save percentage and 26 shutouts. He reached the Stanley Cup Final with the Canucks in 2011, played in the 2016 NHL All-Star Game, and represented the United States at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and the 2019 World Championship.
Soshnikov returns to North America after playing the last three seasons in the KHL. He skated in 33 games between CSKA Moscow and Omsk Avangard last season, totaling four goals and 12 assists.
Soshnikov has played 88 games in the AHL with Toronto and San Antonio, recording 29 goals and 25 assists for 54 points. In 87 NHL contests with Toronto and St. Louis, he has eight goals and eight assists.
Wotherspoon skated in 57 games for Bridgeport last season, leading all team defensemen with 24 points (three goals, 21 assists).
Wotherspoon has spent his entire five-year pro career with Bridgeport, totaling 21 goals and 75 assists for 96 points in 266 games. He was originally a fourth-round pick by the Islanders in the 2015 NHL Draft.