Mikheyev Trade Even More Likely To Happen For Canucks Now

There have been trade rumors surrounding Ilya Mikheyev for a little bit now, but his agent has now reportedly been given permission to help facilitate a trade, per Rick Dhaliwal.

Mikheyev had a down season and his worst since 2020-21 with the Toronto Maple Leafs before he got a big contract. This was his second season in Vancouver after signing a four-year, $4.75 million AAV deal. The 29-year-old winger scored 11 goals and 31 points in 78 games.

To make matters worse, he went scoreless in 11 postseason games and that's not the first time in his career he had disappeared in the playoffs when his team made it. Mikheyev has 30 playoff games across four seasons and has only produced points in one of those years (not with the Canucks).

Though the Canucks have cap space, there is a logical reason why his cap would be better off moved than on the books. There are reports that the Canucks are hunting big fish in free agency or through a trade as their window to win is open now.

While players like Elias Lindholm, Dakota Joshua, and Sam Lafferty might all be gone by free agency, it still makes sense to move on from Mikheyev before his value drops even more and then the team may have to consider a buyout in 2025. The expectation is that he would be traded to a non-contender who could fit the cap hit. It doesn't seem like he would cost a draft pick to dump, but the return won't be great either.