Welcome to another edition of NHL Rumours! The Stanley Cup could be hoisted tonight and a champion can be crowned. However, the rumour mill is growing and churning. The buzz around the league gets larger as the offseason is closer. Today’s rumours focus on the Vancouver Canucks and how they can shed salary cap space.
NHL Rumours
Rumour: Frank Seravelli from Daily Faceoff Discusses a trade involving Ilya Mikheyev
It is going to be a busy offseason for the Vancouver Canucks. The main priority is already in place, as they locked up centre Elias Pettersson for the next eight years. It was the best season the Canucks have had and the team reached the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Also Rick Tocchet won the Jack Adams for coach of the year. Safe to say, the Canucks are in good hands but there is work to be done.
The team is tight against the salary cap and has key players headed to free agency. It is unlikely that they can bring back Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, and Filip Hronek. Lindholm reportedly turned down a seven year deal to remain with the Canucks, so retaining him will not be easy. If they are to make a better run at these players, they’ll need to shed some space.
Trading One Of Their Own
The latest NHL Rumours surrounds a forward on the Vancouver Canucks. In order to gain salary cap relief, the Canucks could look to trade forward Ilya Mikheyev. Mikheyev still has two years on his contract and a salary cap hit of $4.75 million per season. That’s not that bad when you think about it, but when you are up against the cap that’s a heavy hit. According to Seravelli, teams are asking the Canucks to attach an asset to facilitate a trade. Sometimes that is the price to pay in order to get a contract off the books.
In early 2023, Mikheyev had his ACL repaired and he was never able to play the speed game he thrives in. When he set a career high of 21 goals during the 2021-22 season, he was an intriguing piece. However, the last two years have seen him score 24 goals. Also, he went 34 games this season without a goal and was held pointless during the playoffs.
Mikheyev could be a good depth player on another contending team. Also, he could bounce back after that brutal injury and revive himself after what was a tough season. It will be interesting to see how things shake up for the Canucks this summer.
Main Photo: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports
