Pacific Notes: Miller, Vladar, Geertsen

The Canucks have moved forward J.T. Miller to injured non-roster status, relays Thomas Drance of The Athletic (subscription link).  The move allows them to open up an extra spot on their 23-player roster if they need to use it although doing so would require an LTIR placement for Thatcher Demko first, something they’ve been hesitant to do so far.  Miller is currently away from the team on an indefinite leave of absence that started earlier this week, a big hit to their attack as he has 16 points in 17 games so far.  Unlike a typical IR placement, the injured non-roster designation does not carry a minimum amount of time for a player to be on there so if Miller was to come back quicker than expected, he could be reinstated to the active roster immediately.

Elsewhere in the Pacific:

• Kent Wilson of the Calgary Herald feels that goaltender Daniel Vladar is Calgary’s most logical trade candidate at the moment. The 27-year-old is off to a nice start to his year after recovering from hip surgery and has a 2.65 GAA with a .906 SV% in his first nine starts, numbers that are well above league average.  With several teams looking for goalie help and an affordable $2.2MM cap charge, the Flames could get a decent return for his services.  Vladar is a pending unrestricted free agent and while it could make sense to try to keep him partnered with Dustin Wolf beyond this season, AHL netminder Devin Cooley is off to a dominant start in the minors (1.63 GAA, .947 SV% in ten games) and is making a push to get a look at the NHL level sooner than later himself.
• Golden Knights winger Mason Geertsen released a statement through AHL Henderson’s Twitter account announcing that he is now cancer-free after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma last November. The 29-year-old missed a month last season following the diagnosis but has been able to play regularly since then.  Geertsen has three assists and 19 penalty minutes in eight games so far with the Silver Knights this season and is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.