Comings and goings

Like a good old maid, Nonis keeps dusting and tidying up the manor as the free agency hysteria is about to kick off in a few days.

First it would appear that the Canucks have qualified both Lukas Krajicek and Cup darling Ryan Shannon. Now they are free to phone Bobby Clarke for Kesler money if they want, but I doubt they’ll go that far. Both will have spots that are theirs to lose come preseason. And, hey, keeping Krajicek is great for the one year anniversary of “the trade” as the Canucks love Luongo and will likely be keeping Krajicek while the Panthers have Allen for five years, but no Bertuzzi and now no Auld. OK OK…one last time to gloat on that trade and we’ll move on…to watching Iron Mike run his magic in cowtown.

In addition, it would all but appear super Moose Jason Jaffray is close to inking a two year, two way deal with the big club that will give him a shot to show his stuff in September. Jaffray led the Moose in points last year and was sixth in the AHL overall; Jaff also has some decent size and takes a fair number of penalties so it’ll be interesting to see what he can bring to camp.

It would also appear blue chipper goalie Cory Schneider is closer to signing with Vancouver as well. We’ve all heard the rumors about Nonis trading his rights away, but it sounds like they want to keep him in house for the foreseeable future. Schneider helped BC in their NCAA champsionship runs the past two years although lost both times (thereby ensuring he’s future Canuck material because he’s experienced repeated failure in the post-season). Schneider’s numbers are solid as a rock though: in three seasons, he’s gone 66-26-7 with a GAA of 2.053, 15 shutouts, and a save percentage of 0.923.

Speaking of the Moose, there is the issue of the much-maligned Nonis dust bunny that is Marc Chouinard. The Canucks have until the end of this week to buy him out and eat $732,600 against the cap next season (or spread it over two seasons at $366,300 of what is dubbed “dead money” which is a fantastic nickname). Or they can keep him in Manitoba and pay him the full $1.1 million but not have it count against the cap as long as he stays there.

Also, the jury is still out on Jeff Cowan. It’s rumored he’s seeking a two year deal and a bump up from the $532,000 he made last year, but so far assistant GM Steve Tambellini hasn’t found the right financial fit. It would be a shame if, starting this weekend, the brabarian relocates elsewhere but here’s hoping they can find something and bring him back since, if nothing else, he’s the closest thing to a goon this team has. And did I mention the bras? Yes yes…wink wink nudge nudge say no more.