Pacific Notes: Canucks, Miller, Christoffer

While the Canucks have been linked to the Hurricanes and defenseman Noah Hanifin, that isn’t the only prominent Eastern Conference player they appear to have interest in.  TSN’s Bob McKenzie suggested in a segment on TSN 1040 (audio link) that Buffalo center Ryan O’Reilly is also on their radar.  It’s no surprise that Vancouver is in the market for help down the middle after losing Henrik Sedin to retirement; they now have that void to fill inside their top-six.  While on the surface it would seem counter-intuitive to add veteran help when the team appears to be in rebuilding mode, O’Reilly still has five years left on his contract so he’d still be around when the Canucks look to shift gears and try to get into contention.  He carries a $7.5MM cap hit with most of his money due in annual signing bonuses so it’s worth watching to see if Buffalo tries to deal him before a $7.5MM payment is due next month.

Elsewhere in the Pacific:

• Golden Knights defenseman Colin Miller sustained a broken nose during Monday’s Game Four loss to the Capitals, the team announced (Twitter link). The injury was sustained in the third period in a collision with Washington winger T.J. Oshie.  Miller remained in the game and should be available to play in what is a must-win Game Five for Vegas on Thursday night.
• Oilers pending RFA winger Braden Christoffer has signed a one-year contract with their minor league affiliate in Bakersfield, the AHL team announced. Christoffer was signed as an undrafted free agent by Edmonton back in 2015 but has yet to make it past the AHL.  This past season, he had 15 points along with 96 penalty minutes in 63 games with the Condors.  This makes it likely that he will not be qualified by the team in advance of the June 25th deadline.