Some happenings . . .

Brad Lauer has resigned after five seasons as an assistant coach with the Kootenay Ice. It would seem apparent that Lauer, a former Regina Pats power forward who was interviewed for head-coaching positions with the Moose Jaw Warriors and Prince Albert Raiders, has landed a position elsewhere but, at the moment, no one is talking.

The OHL’s Saginaw Spirit thought it had its man when it announced July 2 that Sheldon Ferguson, a former Seattle Thunderbirds head coach and Hockey Canada head scout, was its new general manager, replacing Bob Mancini, whose contract wasn’t renewed. Ferguson had been the Carolina Hurricanes’ head scout prior to accepting the Spirit’s offer. Five days later, however, Ferguson quit a job he never really started, citing personal reasons. Earlier this week, the Spirit hired former NHL goaltender Don Edwards as its GM. He had been the -- get this! -- vice-president, director of hockey operations, general manager and head coach of the junior A Oakville, Ont., Blades. . . . Dennis Francoeur has a three-year contract as the new head coach of the QMJHL’s Acadie-Bathurst Titan, replacing former NHLer John Chabot, who has signed on as an assistant coach under Ted Nolan with the NHL’s New York Islanders. Francoeur, a veteran coach, hasn’t worked in the QMJHL since being fired by the Shawinigan Cataractes 18 games into the 2005-06 season.