The Vancouver Canucks took care of a bit of housekeeping when they extended qualifying offers to restricted free agents Dale Weise, Eddie Lack, and, most notably, Cory Schneider.
“Today we made qualifying offers to three players,” said Canucks assistant GM Laurence Gilman told the Vancouver Province. “Whether we tender qualifying offers to other players will be bourne out between now and the window (to make qualifying offers) closing next Monday.”
Vancouver is expected to re-sign Schneider, but the question is at what cost. His playing time has been limited behind Roberto Luongo, but he’s made the most of the opportunities he’s been given and he certainly appears to be ready to serve as a starter.
How the Canucks’ negotiations with Schneider go might ultimately determine Luongo’s fate. If they’re left with the impression that Schneider will stay with them for the long haul, then they might be more inclined to pull the trigger on a Luongo deal. If they have any reason to fear that Schneider will not stick around once he eventually has the opportunity to become an unrestricted free agent, then Vancouver might defy the popular rumors and hold onto Luongo.
