Massive development regarding Ilya Mikheyev and a trade out of Vancouver
It's no secret the Vancouver Canucks would like to move on from Ilya Mikheyev and the $4.75 million owed to him in each of the next two seasons as they look to make improvements to their roster.
Now it appears that both the team and agent are on the same page about a move, as Rick Dhaliwal reports that Mikheyev's agent, Dan Milstein, has been granted permission to seek out a trade for his client.
The speedy winger produced fairly well before injury in 2022-23 and started last season strong before his production fell off a cliff.
In 2024, Mikheyev managed only one goal in 57 games, including playoffs. While he still brings speed and defensive understanding, finding a buyer for Mikheyev without a sweetener will be tough. The early reports have suggested that the Canucks may not go as high as second-round pick to get Mikheyev out of Vancouver without any salary retention.
However, if the Canucks fail to move him, they will have to hope that Mikheyev responds similarly to Brock Boeser and Conor Garland. Both players' agents were permitted to seek trades in the past two seasons and have responded with arguably their best NHL seasons yet.
Moving Mikheyev's total cap hit would give the Canucks additional cap room to possibly afford Jake Guentzel and Nikita Zadorov. It'll be intriguing to see how things play out a week from the NHL Draft.
| POLL | ||
If the Canucks can't move Mikheyev, do you think he can bounce back? | ||
| Yes | 1056 | 48.2 % |
| No | 1137 | 51.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
