The Chicago Blackhawks’ summer plans are pretty straightforward. Step 1: Re-sign Connor Bedard. Step 2: Draft a future superstar with the No. 4 pick. Step 3: Make a splash on the trade market to give Bedard a competent linemate. The rest of the team’s decisions are pretty straightforward, with almost all of their youngsters signed to extensions (except for Kevin Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro). Most of their veterans, like Jason Dickinson and Connor Murphy, were already shipped off at the deadline, and the Blackhawks aren’t too worried about re-signing guys like Sam Lafferty and Matt Grzelcyk. They should be buying out Andre Burakovsky’s last contract year, but the rest of their deals are handled.
That is, except for their penalty-killing machine: Ilya Mikheyev.
Mikheyev, 31, was traded to Chicago from the Canucks in 2024 for negative value, with Vancouver wanting to dump the contract that carries a cap hit of $4,037,500 annually. While he spent a good chunk of his time with the Canucks on the injury report, he blossomed into a really excellent defensive winger and perhaps a top-five penalty killer in the entire NHL. He scored 38 goals in 157 games and used his sensational speed to lead the Blackhawks to the second-best penalty-kill mark in the entire NHL this season. With as many as nine forwards aged 23 or younger on Chicago’s roster next season, they could certainly use a defensibly responsible veteran, especially one as talented as Mikheyev.
But it isn’t always that easy. Mikheyev is approaching his 32nd birthday, and doesn’t figure into the Blackhawks’ long-term plans. He’ll probably be looking for a longer-term deal, especially while his value is high. Chicago shouldn’t feel comfortable giving players like Mikheyev anything longer than two years at this point. Plus, the Blackhawks may even be able to get something in return for his exclusive negotiating rights before they expire on July 1.
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That’s why when Elliotte Friedman reported on Monday’s “32 Thoughts” podcast that the Blackhawks were making him available for trade, it wasn’t a huge surprise.
While Chicago certainly likes him and wouldn’t mind having him back next year, there seems to be a fully understandable disconnect between the two sides. The Blackhawks are now actively looking to make a deal, and a PK-needy team might jump all over it, offering a conditional draft pick contingent on him being signed with that team before July 1. If Chicago can get any sort of value at all for his negotiating rights, it’ll be a big win. Either way, it’s now apparent that he won’t be brought back next year.
The Blackhawks will certainly miss his game on the penalty kill, but they also have plenty of other options in-house (not that they can fully replace Mikheyev). They’ll be looking for Ryan Greene, Landon Slaggert, Roman Kantserov, and AJ Spellacy to step up and fill that role for longer than Mikheyev would have been able to.
