Ilya Mikheyev gets official go-ahead to seek a trade but easier said than done

There has been speculation recently, that the Vancouver Canucks are trying to move Ilya Mikheyev. Now, this speculation has been confirmed as reality.

Mikheyev's agent Dan Millstein, has been given permission by the Canucks to help facilitate a trade for his client. The news was reported by Rick Dhaliwal of Donnie and Dahli - The Team on CHEK News.

Mikheyev has two seasons remaining on his current deal, with an annual cap hit of $4.75 million to the Canucks. This additional money would certainly free up valuable additional cap space for the attempts to re-sign their multitude of pending free agents, particularly the likes of Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm.

However, just because the Canucks have given permission to the 29-year-old's agent to facilitate a move, it doesn't necessarily make it any more likely or easier. There are still certain obstacles to overcome, in order to get a trade done.

Offensive drop-off and durability issues

Mikheyev remains an excellent defensive winger, but the reality is that his offensive game has dropped off considerably. Consider that during his final 61 games of the 2023-24 season, he only managed to score one goal.

This offensive ineptitude was particularly on display by Mikheyev during the playoffs, despite appearing in a career-high 11 games. He had zero points, while recording a -4 rating and the lowest average ice time of his four seasons of playoff action.

In fairness to the former Maple Leaf, his drop-off in offensive production was due to the second main reason it might be tough to find him another team. The harsh reality is that he has continually struggled to remain healthy during his five seasons in the NHL.

Mikheyev had to deal with a couple of major wrist injuries during his time in Toronto, which was bad enough. However, this was nothing compared to the torn ACL he suffered during his first preseason game after signing with the Canucks.

The Omsk, Russian native did return early in the 2022-23 campaign, but was eventually shut down in January to undergo what turned out to be season-ending surgery. With how he performed overall offensively during this season, concerns have been raised asking if he will ever fully recover from his ACL injury?

The Canucks will be hoping that bringing Millstein into the equation will somehow help. As a final note, it is also worth mentioning Mikheyev does have a modified 12-team no trade list, so he does retain some control over how this all plays out.

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