[Speculation] Canucks Rumors: Ilya Mikheyev Trade Chatter Heating Up

Gurn · June 20

Just now, tas said:

and an asteroid could hit at any time, too.

you can't plan for those things. if NHL teams are hedging their bets, not spending what they can because they're afraid something beyond their control might go wrong, they're working against their own self interest.

Don't buy a house because you're expecting a raise next year, so you will then be able to afford the place.

I've watched people sell of their toys, and take on an extra job, because the overtime they expected, vanished after a schedule change.

tas · June 20

1 minute ago, Gurn said:

Don't buy a house because you're expecting a raise next year, so you will then be able to afford the place.

I've watched people sell of their toys, and take on an extra job, because the overtime they expected, vanished after a schedule change.

luckily the NHL doesn't work that way.

Coconuts · June 20

4 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said:

And Myers stature comes in handy when things get physical.

Sometimes he seems to get in trouble simply because he's a taller guy, but yeah.

He already knows the systems, he knows the coaching staff, he knows the players. He's a known quantity, a much better known quantity.

Gurn · June 20

Just now, tas said:

luckily the NHL doesn't work that way.

Things change- attendance levels can go up, or down or maybe remain the same

T.V. revenue could go up, or maybe down- this is a bit in the air as one of the major tv rights holders, stateside, went bankrupt (Ballys, I think).

Billabong · June 20

I have feeling this move means the Canucks still trying to “sell” other teams that he is better than what he shown last year and won’t have to add too big of a sweetener to move him

BCNate · June 20

I think the cost of adding a sweetener, probably a 2nd, or retaining on a deal are both more costly options than buying him out.

tas · June 20

1 minute ago, Gurn said:

Things change- attendance levels can go up, or down or maybe remain the same

T.V. revenue could go up, or maybe down- this is a bit in the air as one of the major tv rights holders, stateside, went bankrupt (Ballys, I think).

the league and their financials are sound. it's a high risk business where managers have short shelf lives. you don't play it safe because when the bad things don't happen and you have money leftover and a team that isn't good enough, you've struck out looking, the worst kind of failure.

VegasCanuck · June 20

1 hour ago, Mike Vanderhoek said:

Carolina would need to sign the extension if it is going to be 8 years, could be traded afterwards as players have to be on a club's reserve list as of the trade deadline.

If we acquire his rights as has been rumored, we can sign him to 8 years.

Mike Vanderhoek · June 20

5 minutes ago, VegasCanuck said:

If we acquire his rights as has been rumored, we can sign him to 8 years.

I thought it would have to be a sign and trade but I guess same type of scenario.

VegasCanuck · June 20

Just now, Mike Vanderhoek said:

I thought it would have to be a sign and trade but I guess same type of scenario.

Nope, if we own his rights, it's all good...if we throw a 4th or 5th round pick at them, they would likely take that, but I can't see doing that unless we are already talking and there's a general agreement on the contract.

EdgarM · June 20

18 minutes ago, PhillipBlunt said:

I think Pettersson is the common denominator in the equation. He needs to be the straw that stirs the drink. Especially at $11.6M a season.

I agree, a 11.6 M dollar player should need very little from his line mates to be successful. Burrows and Odjick are good examples of that. Anson Carter could have been rich if he realized that.

HarbularyBattery · June 20

33 minutes ago, Bob Long said:

That's actually a decent idea.

i really like that. I thought Bear was a great fit with us.

+ we know he can also play with Hughes, so it gives tocchet some flexibility

Gurn · June 20

4 minutes ago, tas said:

the league and their financials are sound. it's a high risk business where managers have short shelf lives. you don't play it safe because when the bad things don't happen and you have money leftover and a team that isn't good enough, you've struck out looking, the worst kind of failure.

Owners and GMs play it safe, quite a bit.

Plenty of teams don't even get to the current cap. last season 4 teams had more than $10 mil in space left

1 had just under $10, and 2 others had more than $5 in space.

This source does not say just when these numbers were compiled, but it does indicate that teams and Gm's can also be cautious.

https://www.spotrac.com/nhl/cap/_/year/2023/sort/cap_maximum_space2

tas · June 20

2 minutes ago, Gurn said:

Owners and GMs play it safe, quite a bit.

Plenty of teams don't even get to the current cap. last season 4 teams had more than $10 mil in space left

1 had just under $10, and 2 others had more than $5 in space.

This source does not say just when these numbers were compiled, but it does indicate that teams and Gm's can also be cautious.

https://www.spotrac.com/nhl/cap/_/year/2023/sort/cap_maximum_space2

notice anything those teams have in common?

PavelB · June 20

Ilya has faced some unfortunate circumstances with injuries and a new coaching staff, which have limited his potential. However, he remains a dedicated and hardworking player, giving his best effort every shift. Although he has shown promise, he hasn't had the opportunity to fully showcase his skills with the Canucks.

Wing · June 20

A trade with Washington makes so much sense. With the PLD trade it seems caps are just focusing on helping Ovi breaking the goal scoring record than to win. Mik is also Russian so there's a bit of a countryman connection there.

I'm hoping they see more value in the player than we do and we don't have to pay more than a 3rd rounder.

Captain insano · June 20

3 minutes ago, Wing said:

A trade with Washington makes so much sense. With the PLD trade it seems caps are just focusing on helping Ovi breaking the goal scoring record than to win. Mik is also Russian so there's a bit of a countryman connection there.

I'm hoping they see more value in the player than we do and we don't have to pay more than a 3rd rounder.

I just don’t see Washington adding 2 bad contracts if PLD didn’t happen then I’d say you have a point

Canuck You · June 20

5 minutes ago, Wing said:

A trade with Washington makes so much sense. With the PLD trade it seems caps are just focusing on helping Ovi breaking the goal scoring record than to win. Mik is also Russian so there's a bit of a countryman connection there.

I'm hoping they see more value in the player than we do and we don't have to pay more than a 3rd rounder.

I'm thinking the exact opposite..They just traded for one experiment.

J-23 · June 20

2 hours ago, HKSR said:

No. No, I don't think the Canucks should sign that deal, but also NO, I don't think Guentzel will cost that much.

He’s getting at least 9 million.

Rip The Mesh · June 20

The Vancouver Canucks have a problem.

They have several significant needs in their lineup and a limited amount of cap space to fill those needs. If they want to go big-game hunting in free agency for someone like Jake Guentzel, that won’t leave a lot of room left to fill out the rest of the roster.

In particular, it would mean losing Nikita Zadorov. The big defenceman, by all accounts, wants to stay in Vancouver but this is also likely his last chance to truly cash in on his hockey career with a big contract after five straight one and two-year deals. After his playoff performance, he ought to have lots of suitors on the open market.

If the Canucks want to keep Zadorov and also splurge on a player like Guentzel in free agency, they need to clear some cap space. The biggest inefficiency on their roster right now is glaringly obvious: Ilya Mikheyev.

"The Canucks have been trying to move Mikheyev for quite some time"
The formerly fleet-of-foot winger has two years remaining with a $4,750,000 cap hit. That’s a contract befitting a second-line winger but Mikheyev has performed more like a third-liner despite getting prime minutes with talented linemates. He had just one goal in his final 61 games, including the playoffs, where he had no points.

If the Canucks could trade Mikheyev and get his contract off the books that would clear up a lot of issues. That’s easier said than done, of course, as other teams around the NHL are well aware of his scoring slump and declining play.

In addition, Mikheyev has a modified no-trade clause that allows him to name 12 teams to which he will not accept a trade.

Perhaps that’s why general manager Patrik Allvin has reportedly looked for some help from Mikheyev’s agent, Dan Milstein.

“Milstein’s got permission from the Canucks to help facilitate a trade,” said CHEK TV’s Rick Dhaliwal on Thursday. “The Canucks have been trying to move Mikheyev for quite

some time, not just the last two or three weeks. They tried at the trade deadline as well.”

This isn’t a new strategy for this front office. Near the end of 2022, Brock Boeser’s agent was granted permission to seek a trade. Just before the start of last season, Conor Garland switched agents and his new agent was likewise given permission to seek a trade. Neither were actually traded, much to the relief of last season’s Canucks, as they were two of the team’s best forwards.

Can the Canucks avoid adding a sweetener?
In Mikheyev’s case, this may be a situation where Milstein can look to find a team willing to trade for Mikheyev that is on his no-trade list and perhaps convince Mikheyev to accept a deal to that team.

The trouble is, any team willing to take on Mikheyev may want a sweetener as part of the deal.

Allvin hasn’t hesitated to make trades to clear cap space in the past. Before the 2022-23 season, Allvin traded Jason Dickinson and his $2,650,000 cap hit to the Chicago Blackhawks to clear a little space, spending a 2024 second-round pick in the process and getting Riley Stillman in return.

Ahead of this past season, he traded Tanner Pearson and his $3,250,000 cap hit to the Montreal Canadiens, sweetening the deal with a 2025 third-round pick and getting backup goaltender Casey DeSmith in return.

Then, during the season, Allvin moved Anthony Beauvillier and his $4,150,000 cap hit to the Blackhawks. This time, he didn’t include a sweetener, but only received a fifth-round pick in return. That cap space was immediately used two days later when he traded for Nikita Zadorov from the Calgary Flames.

The Canucks would clearly prefer a trade in the vein of Beauvillier, especially because they’re already running low on draft picks. They don’t have first or second-round picks in the upcoming draft and have already moved their third-round picks from the 2025 and 2026 drafts. A team with a middle-of-the-road prospect pool can’t keep losing draft picks to clear cap space.

A Beauvillier-like deal probably won’t happen for Mikheyev, however. Mikheyev’s game is heavily predicated on speed and while he was still above average this past season post-ACL surgery, it wasn’t the separating factor it once was.

Any team taking on Mikheyev will be gambling that his speed will return. Maybe it will with even more time to fully recover from his surgery, but he’s about to turn 30 — it might be more likely that his play will continue to decline than that he will bounce back.

Can the Canucks afford to throw in a draft pick to get Mikheyev off the books? If they want to be a true Stanley Cup contender next season, can they afford not to?

If the Canucks truly believe they can win the Stanley Cup next season, they owe it to themselves and the fans to take whatever steps necessary to improve the team and not just run it back with the same squad. That might mean making a sacrifice to clear the cap space necessary to make a big move in free agency.