Photo credit: Chicago Sun-Times
The Vancouver Canucks appeared to make a big mistake back in the summer of 2024 when they completed a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks to clear some cap space.
Following weeks of rumors last spring, the Vancouver Canucks finally found a team to take on forward Ilya Mikheyev just two days before the NHL Entry Draft, sending him to the Chicago Blackhawks along with Sam Lafferty in exchange for fourth round pick in 2027.The reason why the Vancouver Canucks had to move on from Ilya Mikheyev came down to cap space as the team needed to free up some money to make a big splash in the offseason, which they did by signing forward Jake DeBrusk to a long-term deal, along with the fact that Elias Pettersson‘s extension was set to begin ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.
A little over a year later and it looks like the Canucks may come to regret the decision to move on from the 30-year-old Russian winger after he had a career-year in Chicago.
Ilya Mikheyev’s career year may make Vancouver Canucks regret trading him
The rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks had yet another tough season in 2024-25, finishing second-last in the National Hockey League standings with a record of 25-46-11, nine points head of the San Jose Sharks, who ended up in 32nd.
Despite their poor season, a number of players on the Blackhawks had career years including centerman Ryan Donato, who finished with 31 goals and 62 points, as well as the aforementioned Ilya Mikheyev.
For the second time in his National Hockey League career, Mikheyev hit the 20 goal mark, but also managed to set a new high in points with 34, which was good for sixth on the Chicago Blackhawks.
Given the fact that Vancouver Canucks struggled offensively last season, finishing 24th in the league in goals for with 236 in 82 games (2.878 goals per game), the team desperately needed some secondary scoring and could’ve solved that issue if they didn’t trade Ilya Mikheyev last June.
“Now that one year has passed since this trade, it is fair to say that bringing in Mikheyev has turned out to be a great move for the Blackhawks.” Michael DeRosa of The Hockey News said.
It’s going to be interesting to see what Ilya Mikheyev has in store for the 2025-26 campaign and if he’s able to reach the 20-goal mark for the second consecutive season.
The Omsk, Russia native has extra motivation heading to the season given that it’s a contract year for him and he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, 2026.
Previously on CanucksDaily
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Completed Trade with the Blackhawks Turning Out to Be a Mistake by Patrik Allvin and the Vancouver Canucks
Do you think the Vancouver Canucks made a mistake by trading Ilya Mikheyev?