Ilya Mikheyev | #65 | RW

[DownUndaCanuck]

Surprised to see Mikheyev fly under the radar this year, he's costing us a 5M cap hit just like Kuzmenko and Garland, skates well and forechecks and hits well, picks up secondary assists every now and then but really doesn't do much else. Very surprised to see Kuzmenko constantly getting benched, a lot of heat for Garland early in the season yet this guy gets a free pass all year long? Might be because he plays the way Tocchet likes - safely, good defensively most of the time and forechecks, but he brings very little offence.

 

I'd like to see Mikheyev held a bit more accountable.

[Rip The Mesh]

 

[higgyfan]

27 minutes ago, Rip The Mesh said:

 

 

Of course, Mik doesn't play the way Josh does, but who else is available?

Mik doesn't have the offensive game this season, but he does skate well

and is still a solid defensive player.  So far, he isn't hurting the team and

if he does, they will try someone else.  Hopefully Josh will be back soon

and all will be well in Canuck land.

[-AJ-]

5 minutes ago, higgyfan said:

 

Of course, Mik doesn't play the way Josh does, but who else is available?

Mik doesn't have the offensive game this season, but he does skate well

and is still a solid defensive player.  So far, he isn't hurting the team and

if he does, they will try someone else.  Hopefully Josh will be back soon

and all will be well in Canuck land.

 

Lafferty might be a better option, or even Bains if they want to try him there.

[higgyfan]

4 minutes ago, -AJ- said:

 

Lafferty might be a better option, or even Bains if they want to try him there.

 

It appears that Tocc's choice was Mik over Laffy.  Maybe why he has asked for Bains

to be called up. 

[-AJ-]

2 hours ago, higgyfan said:

 

It appears that Tocc's choice was Mik over Laffy.  Maybe why he has asked for Bains

to be called up. 

 

Yeah, felt weird to me. Mikheyev has some skill and speed, but Lafferty's game feels like it has more of the grit that Joshua's does.

[Hairy Kneel]

With 2 more years at 4.75M

Mik is a bad investment 

We need that cap space to resign Dak and our other bottom 6 ufa's.

[Alflives]

1 hour ago, Hairy Kneel said:

With 2 more years at 4.75M

Mik is a bad investment 

We need that cap space to resign Dak and our other bottom 6 ufa's.

Mik plays a key role that isn’t so easy to replace as Dak. 

[TopChed]

1 hour ago, Alflives said:

Mik plays a key role that isn’t so easy to replace as Dak. 

What? He doesn't hit pk block shots or score. Dak does. 

[Wilbur]

Mikheyev jumps up into 152nd in all-time Canuck scoring with his assist tonight

 

151	Jeff Brown	D	72	10	44	54
152	Ilya Mikheyev	RW	98	23	30	53
153	Brent Peterson	C	146	15	38	53
154	Kyle Wellwood	C	149	32	20	52

[Wilbur]

Oof, Mikheyev's 1st point in 10 days moves him into 150th in all-time Canuck scoring

 

149	Blair MacDonald	RW	88	26	28	54
150	Ilya Mikheyev	RW	103	23	31	54
151	Derek Dorsett	RW	184	20	34	54
152	Jeff Brown	D	72	10	44	54

Edited February 28 by Wilbur

[CaptainCanuck12]

2 hours ago, Wilbur said:

Oof, Mikheyev's 1st point in 10 days moves him into 150th in all-time Canuck scoring

 

149	Blair MacDonald	RW	88	26	28	54
150	Ilya Mikheyev	RW	103	23	31	54
151	Derek Dorsett	RW	184	20	34	54
152	Jeff Brown	D	72	10	44	54

.  

Edited February 28 by CaptainCanuck12

[Hairy Kneel]

Mr Bustaroo!

 

Alf's empties have spoken. 

[Blue]

There is a reason why this guy was basically crying when he was shut down for surgery. He knew he'd never be the same. 

 

If Bouvillier was worth a 5th twice then so is Mik.

[Don Brodka Jr]

Literally the worst player under contract to this team!

[Herberts Vasiljevs]

I have always been a big fan of Mikheyev, but he has disappointed, whether that can be largely accredited to the knee injury he suffered or not. 

 

What would the cap implications of a buyout look like, assuming he cannot be traded in a manner that makes sense for the organization?

[canucks curse]

they will move his contract 

Drance on 650 pushing moving one of the goalies for assets 

fair enough, can re sign de smith and play him a bit more to rest thatcher 

[DSVII]

Look forward to him being on the Alumni page soon.

 

Imagine if that goal went in on Game 7, that's worth 20+ reg season goals right there, but sadly his hands are shot.

[-AJ-]

1 hour ago, canucks curse said:

they will move his contract 

Drance on 650 pushing moving one of the goalies for assets 

fair enough, can re sign de smith and play him a bit more to rest thatcher 

 

I can't see DeSmith being worth much as a pending UFA and I don't want to move either Demko or Silovs. We likely lose a 1st or 2nd in losing Mikeheyev's contract. Might be worth it if we can re-sign Hronek and Lindholm both with the trade though.

[Mike Vanderhoek]

1 hour ago, canucks curse said:

they will move his contract 

Drance on 650 pushing moving one of the goalies for assets 

fair enough, can re sign de smith and play him a bit more to rest thatcher 

 

I think Silovs will be playing in Abby next year as the starter, but if the team decides to make him a 1B behind Demko that would help lighten the workload on Demko. I just don't think that would be best for his development though as an up and coming starter.

 

The only contract I can see the team attempting to move on is Mikheyev even though he came within one point of his career high and set career highs in games played and assists.

 

I can see Pittsburgh taking a run at Mikheyev ( $ 1.5m retained ) for a swap of late picks type of scenario. Penguins will need to replace Jeff Carter's $3m range now that he is retired.

[Johngould21]

IF he's been hampered with knee issues for an entire season, you have to think he's done. His skating style shows he's trying to compensate for an injury. To me he looks like damaged goods, unfortunately. I really liked this signing when it was done.

[Rip The Mesh]

The Vancouver Canucks have a good amount of salary cap space to fill this summer, but with a few high-profile contract negotiations in front of them, they apparently want to find even more.

 

One way they could open up a little more space would be to trade underperforming winger Ilya Mikheyev.

As first reported by Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, Postmedia can confirm from several league sources that the Canucks have spoken with teams around the NHL about Mikheyev, who still has two years remaining on his contract, averaging $4.75 million per season.

“They’d love to get out of him. It was a terrible signing,” a league source said.

Mikheyev signed a four-year deal with Vancouver in the summer of 2022. At the time, some observers raised their eyebrows about Mikheyev’s wage, but he was an intriguing talent, a speedy winger, adept at killing penalties and with some scoring ability, although he was considered a bit of a one-trick pony around the net.

 

He’d struggled with injuries over the previous seasons in Toronto, including a serious wrist injury midway through the 2019-20 campaign, which was his first season in the NHL after four in the KHL. He needed surgery to repair severed tendons and arteries in his right wrist, putting him on the shelf for three months (which would prove to be the rest of the season when the COVID-19 pandemic ended the 2019-20 regular season early).

Before the injury, he’d been somewhat productive, scoring eight goals in 39 games.

His first season back, though, was a struggle. He suited up for 51 games, but scored just 7 times. You couldn’t help but wonder if the wrist injury meant he’d never be able to finish like he had before.

And then to start what would be his final season in Toronto, he suffered a broken wrist late in the pre-season. He didn’t play again until December, but once he found his groove again, he looked to have found his scoring touch: he erupted for 21 goals in 53 games, which drew Vancouver’s attention.

 

He suffered an ACL tear in his left knee in his final pre-season game in 2022, but played through it for half the season. His skating wasn’t anywhere near as explosive as it had been in Toronto, but he still showed some scoring touch, scoring 13 goals in 46 games. That’s a 20-goal pace, which is exactly what the Canucks hoped they’d get from him.

With the playoffs a dream, he was shut down in late January and had surgery to repair his knee in early February.

 

His long road back to full recovery meant he missed training camp for the 2023-24 season and the first four games of the season.

It took him time to rediscover confidence in his knee, but in the early going he was at least a productive scorer. He hit the back of the net 10 times before Christmas, almost always skating with Elias Pettersson.

 

But then he hit the wall. After scoring his 10th goal of the season Dec. 17 vs. Chicago, he scored just one more time in a 61-game stretch over the regular season and through the playoffs.

And it wasn’t for lack of trying. He kept going to good spots and the puck kept landing on his stick — he took 147 shots this season, tying his career-best — but he couldn’t bury the biscuit. Some of his speed finally returned too, so he was at least an effective defensive player, but he was paid to be more than that.

If the Canucks are going to succeed in trading Mikheyev, you have to think they’d have to give up at least a draft pick to do it. He’s still an NHL player, even if his salary doesn’t match his production. There are teams who are not thinking about contending next season — the Canucks want to be a contender next season — and Mikheyev would be a good fit for a team that’s looking for NHL competence.

 

But no team is likely to help the Canucks out of this one for free. Moving off Mikheyev would mean the Canucks could use his cap hit to help sign a high-priced free agent, and that kind of benefit will cost them.

[higgyfan]

If it weren't for that lingering injury, the outcome could have been much better.

Best of luck in Chicago, Mik.

[-AJ-]

He had some fun moments, but really struggled at the end there. Very streaky in the end.