May 1, 2013; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo (1) during the singing of the National Anthem before the start of the first period, perhaps his final stand as a goalie.  Photo Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

THE GOALIES

Roberto Luongo

• Height: 6-3
• Weight: 217
• Age: 34

W-L-OTL: 9-6-3
SV%: .907
GAA: 2.56
SO: 2

Luongo is a veteran butterfly style goalie with the ability to make show-stopping saves.  He can steal games, but is occasionally prone to weak angle goals.  Lu was better going post to post prior to a season ending injury to his groin sustained several years ago, but has adapted his style from an athletic goaltender to a sound positional one.  He is a workhorse capable of playing 70-75 games per season and is the Canucks’ all-time leader in virtually every statistical category for goaltenders.  Though age is not on his side, Luongo is still an elite level goalie when he’s on, but he can be a bit fragile mentally.

Cory Schneider

Height: 6-2
Weight: 195
Age: 27

W-L-OTL: 17-9-4
SV%: .927
GAA:  2.11
SO:  5

Schneider, when he’s right, tracks the puck as well as any goaltender in the league. Photo Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

Eddie Lack

Height: 6-5
Weight: 197

Age:  25

AHL Stats (With Chicago Wolves)

W-L-OTL: 7-4-1

SV%: .899

GAA:  3.00

SO:  1

At 6’5″, possesses tremendous size and is also agile for his height.  Has a strong mental game and has been showing signs of dominance at the AHL level prior to sustaining a season ending hip injury requiring surgery.  Was a member of the AHL’s all-rookie team two years ago, and had save percentages of over .925 for the last two seasons with Chicago.  Slightly thin for his height, but has lightning fast reflexes and a good glove. Was expected to backup Cory Schneider prior to his injury which sidelined him for six months.

Joe Cannata

Height: 6-1

Weight: 200

Age: 23

AHL Stats (With Chicago Wolves)

W-L-OTL: 6-6-0

SV%: .912

GAA:  2.65

SO:  0

Another goaltender with size in the Canucks’ system who is a very technically sound goaltender, with excellent hand-eye coordination.  Cannata is decent puck-handler, but lacks the “grade-A” ability of an elite goaltender.  May succeed at the minor league level, but has limited upside at the NHL level except as a backup.

David Honzik

Height: 6-3

Weight: 209 lbs

Age: 19

QMJHL Stats (With Cape Breton)

W-L-OTL: 4-23-1

SV%: .873

GAA:  4.40

SO:  1

The Czech Honzik is a big goaltender, who moves smoothly in the crease. A good skater who employs the butterfly style, Honzik takes covers a lot of ice and net with his large frame, but he is prone to dropping too quickly.  Although he had a suspect season with Cape Breton in 2013, scouts think Honzik projects forward well, with the potential of one day playing at the NHL level.  Has yet to experience much success in the playoffs.

Schneider won’t be looking over his shoulder in 2013-2014, but can he live up to expectations? Photo Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

Verdict:  Glass Half Full

About the only thing in Vancouver which is certain is that goaltender Cory Schneider will be shouldering the load for the team next season.  There are some questions, however.  Some technical elements of Schneider’s game must improve going forward.  Too many times teams dumped the puck in and forced the goaltender to make a play, and more than once it burned the Canucks for a goal.  In addition, Schneider has a tendency to play on-net shoot-ins carelessly, often leaving huge rebounds in the middle of the slot for opposing forwards to scoop up.

Furthermore, and more concerning for Canucks fans, was it just a mirage or did Cory Schneider do a number 2 in the bed in games 3 and 4 of San Jose’s sweep of the Canucks?  The goal to lose the series in overtime was about as bad as it gets.  Schneider himself once admitted to “cramping under pressure” so is this a sign of a goalie who can’t handle the big stage, or of a goaltender learning how to cope with it?

My guess is that Schneider will be just fine, and his backup will either be the unproven Eddie Lack or a goalie received in any trade involving Luongo.  Without the albatross of Luongo’s impending trade hanging around the team’s collective neck, Schneider will prove that he has the right stuff to lead his team into the next era of Canucks hockey.  His stickhandling, positioning and concentration in big games are all things which are important to correct going forward, but something tells me he will amend these flaws in his game.

As for the other goalies on the farm, they’ll hold the fort at the AHL level until the Canucks can draft a better prospect than what they already have. In the unlikely situation that Lack is called up to replace Schneider, the organization will have to refill the cupboards with something in development.  The more likely scenario involves Lack developing as a starter with whatever minor affiliate the Canucks purchase next season while a veteran netminder accepts the backup role to Cory Schneider all season long.

(Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports)

Nicklas Jensen, the Vancouver Canucks first round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, is expected to join the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League as early as March.

Jensen has been playing professionally with AIK of Elitserien in Sweden after deciding against returning to the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League for his last year of junior eligibility.

AIK has five more games left on their regular season schedule and will play their last game on March 5.

In the 12-team league, the top-eight teams quality for the playoffs. AIK currently sits ninth in the standings with 63 points. Ahead of them is Brynäs with 63 points. Jensen’s team could still make the playoffs, but it doesn’t appear management expect to make a deep run as the team tried to trade Jensen.

To trade Jensen, it would have required approval from the Canucks since Jensen is on loan and does not have a contract with AIK. The Canucks did not give approval because they wanted him playing in the system as soon as possible. Had Jensen been traded to a top team and they make it to the finals, Jensen would not be available until the middle of April.

“We wanted to get him back here to play in the American Hockey League and gain that experience like he did before,” Gillis told the Vancouver Sun. He’s certainly capable of playing at that level and excelling, so we didn’t want him to go to another team and have him play and miss that opportunity this year. He’s a young guy and we just didn’t feel comfortable with him moving around and then not getting the American Hockey League experience.”

Eddie Lack (Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports)

Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Wolves goaltender Eddie Lack has undergone successful hip surgery and will be out of action for six months.

“After consultation with our team physicians, it was deemed that Eddie Lack would require a procedure on his hip,” Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said in a release. “We expect Eddie to make a complete recovery and continue his professional career after a successful rehabilitation program.”

Lack had been having issues with his hip flexor since early in the season and has been out since the end of November. Initially, the injury was not believed to be serious and Lack had been scheduled to return to practice on December 5, but that did not happen as rehab did not correct the issue.

“We thought and he thought his injury would heal through rehabilitation,” assistant general manager Laurence Gilman told the Vancouver Sun. “Clearly as time moved on it appeared that it wasn’t progressing to the level that we had hoped. Subsequently, surgical intervention was necessary.”

My surgery went very well and I’m focused doing whatever I can to get back quickly! Thanks for all ur thoughts!// stork #GoCanucksGo

— Eddie Lack (@eddielack) January 29, 2013

With the loss of Lack, the Canucks will likely need to acquire a third-string goaltender regardless of what happens with Roberto Luongo. The Canucks have only one other goaltender—Joe Cannata—signed in the system after Luongo and Cory Schneider.

Cannata, 23, is in his first season of professional hockey and has played only a combined 10 games between the ECHL and AHL. With little experience, Cannata is not ready to backup in the NHL in the event an injury happens to either Luongo or Schneider.