Morning Notes: Gillis, Vlasic, Reaves

Former Canucks GM Mike Gillis would like to return to the NHL but in a different capacity.  He told Sportsnet’s Luke Fox that he’d like to be involved in more of a bigger picture type of role, ranging from general organizational development to analytics and much more.  Those types of positions don’t tend to come available all that often but now that Gillis has made it known that he’s looking to return, perhaps an opportunity will arise.

Gillis also addressed the report from last offseason that suggested he could be in line to replace former Vancouver president Trevor Linden.  He denied the idea that he had been approached about taking that job; in the end, GM Jim Benning ultimately assumed Linden’s old responsibilities.

More news from around the hockey world:

• While some college players have been looking to jump to the pro level quickly, don’t expect that to be the case for Blackhawks prospect Alex Vlasic. He told Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago that he expects to spend at least two years and maybe three with Boston University before looking to sign his entry-level deal.  Vlasic was Chicago’s second-round pick last month and as a tall defenseman, the slower development path certainly makes some sense for him.  OHL London has his junior rights but at this point, it doesn’t appear as if he’s interested in going that route.
• The Flames added some grit in yesterday’s acquisition of winger Milan Lucic but they’ve been on the lookout for a physical presence for a while now. Sportsnet’s Eric Francis reports that Calgary believed they had a deal in place with winger Ryan Reaves last summer before he changed his mind and opted to re-sign with Vegas instead.  Considering the Golden Knights still need to shed some salary, it’s likely that they would have spoken with the Flames about Reaves although with Lucic now in the fold, that’s probably doubtful to happen at this point.