Confirmed with Link: Canucks sign F Ilya Mikheyev to 4-Year Deal ($4.75M AAV)

[tantalum]

I'm not sure I like the contract. Seems like too much $$$ but the player can prove me wrong on that.

HOWEVER, the process behind the signing I really liked. They had a big need for players that are better able to get in on the forecheck not just fast but properly positioned and he does that. They needed improvement on two-way play from the wings and he brings that. They needed some more help on the PK and he likely brings that. This was, in my estimation, an acquisition made with pin point accuracy.

I just wish I liked the contract more.

 

[Vector]

 

[Angry Little Elf]

Milstein plus Russian connection

 

[Vector]

Milstein plus Russian connection

WELCOME TO MOSCOUVER!

 

[clay]

After digesting this a bit more, I like the player they targeted here. Our forwards have a lot of skill, but very few who push the pace. This is a weakness up front. The term is reasonable as well. The dollar figure will only make sense if he can deliver at a consistent 20 - 30 goal pace. Hoping that this spells the end for Pearson.

 

[Peter Griffin]

Currently he's probably overpaid but about $750K, but that's the nature with UFA and that could quickly change if he comes here and puts up 20-20 next season. As other's have said, they identified an issue with a lack of speed and PK'ing abilty up front and they have presumably addressed that now. Will be interesting to see what their next moves are as they clearly looking at moving a forward or two to address the defense situation.

 

[JumpierPegasus]

Who would you guys prefer given the choice? Mikheyev or Marchment?

On our team? Mikheyev makes more sense. Marchment would just add to the slow singers we have in the org. Mikheyev gives us a lethal speed option that we don't currently possess and can give a line some more dynamic (pair him with a Horvat or Pod for example their forecheck plus his speed could be lethal)

I think Marchment is the better player overall though

 

[TruGr1t]

Frank Seravalli on SN650 this morning:

"The Mikheyev one, it feels to me talking to other people around the league that it's a bit of an overpay, it's a bit of a reach. I think people like Mikheyev and are curious about where his game is going. He's close to a .5-point per game player, but really hasn't been able to stay on the ice. He's missed significant time due to injury. The really interesting part for me, I had heard heading into free agency that Mikheyev's camp thought they might be able to get 3 years at $4-$4.25M on the market. Some teams at the point were saying like, 'Sounds a bit rich.'"

"To land at 4 years at $4.75M kinda suprised me ... I did not honestly get an impression there were a lot of teams interested in Mikheyev. Heading into free agency I'd checked around, and teams were like, 'I don't know who can afford to pay that type of price among contending teams to add a player that is not exactly a front-line player in that range. The middle class type of player is exactly the type of player that has been getting squeezed."

Sounds like a Benning special. Bid up a player against yourself. Rookie move.

 

[MS]

Frank Seravalli on SN650 this morning:

"The Mikheyev one, it feels to me talking to other people around the league that it's a bit of an overpay, it's a bit of a reach. I think people like Mikheyev and are curious about where his game is going. He's close to a .5-point per game player, but really hasn't been able to stay on the ice. He's missed significant time due to injury. The really interesting part for me, I had heard heading into free agency that Mikheyev's camp thought they might be able to get 3 years at $4-$4.25M on the market. Some teams at the point were saying like, 'Sounds a bit rich.'"

"To land at 4 years at $4.75M kinda suprised me ... I did not honestly get an impression there were a lot of teams interested in Mikheyev. Heading into free agency I'd checked around, and teams were like, 'I don't know who can afford to pay that type of price among contending teams to add a player that is not exactly a front-line player in that range. The middle class type of player is exactly the type of player that has been getting squeezed."

Sounds like a Benning special. Bid up a player against yourself. Rookie move.

The 'injury prone' stuff doesn't really speak to good knowledge on Seravalli (which is surprising).

He's had 2 injuries in his career that caused him to miss significant time - one was a skate cut to his wrist and the other was a badly broken thumb. Both of those are freak injuries that could happen to anyone and he has no sort of chronic problem or muscle/joint/ligament issues.

 

[TruGr1t]

The 'injury prone' stuff doesn't really speak to good knowledge on Seravalli (which is surprising).

He's had 2 injuries in his career that caused him to miss significant time - one was a skate cut to his wrist and the other was a badly broken thumb. Both of those are freak injuries that could happen to anyone and he has no sort of chronic problem or muscle/joint/ligament issues.

Seravalli is a GM insider, so I assume that was a team talking point. I would be much more comfortable at the rumored deal of $4M x 3; still don't like the current deal.

 

[pitseleh]

Yesterday Dan Milstein said they had better offers money-wise. He could be making things up but a small market doesn’t necessarily mean an uncompetitive market.

Whether Mikheyev is worth the contract he got is ultimately a different question.

 

[MS]

Seravalli is a GM insider, so I assume that was a team talking point. I would be much more comfortable at the rumored deal of $4M x 3; still don't like the current deal.

If the talking point is that 'he can't stay healthy' because he had a skate cut and a broken thumb, that isn't a very accurate talking point and you have to question the overall accuracy of the take on the player.

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

Kuzmenko and Mikheyev are clearly friends. This could be a strategy to get the former to sign here long term.

And this only gives Pod a better learning environment. Look for him to really break out this season.

 

[Josepho]

The virtually unanimous reaction to this signing from Toronto fans on the main board is really weird and honestly I don't get it.

On paper his numbers are very good and he has some very dynamic qualities yet he's treated like a dime-a-dozen third liner that is only worth 3M or so, I'm pretty sure I even saw people on the main boards call him bland.

 

[God]

Yesterday Dan Milstein said they had better offers money-wise. He could be making things up but a small market doesn’t necessarily mean an uncompetitive market.

Whether Mikheyev is worth the contract he got is ultimately a different question.

Honestly, I like this much better than when Benning was outbidding himself.

 

[TruGr1t]

The virtually unanimous reaction to this signing from Toronto fans on the main board is really weird and honestly I don't get it.

On paper his numbers are very good and he has some very dynamic qualities yet he's treated like a dime-a-dozen third liner that is only worth 3M or so, I'm pretty sure I even saw people on the main boards call him bland.

Because prior to last year (when he broke out with 20 goals due to an abnormal 14% shooting percentage), he was a pretty typical third-line NHLer.

 

[MS]

The virtually unanimous reaction to this signing from Toronto fans on the main board is really weird and honestly I don't get it.

On paper his numbers are very good and he has some very dynamic qualities yet he's treated like a dime-a-dozen third liner, I'm pretty sure I even saw people on the main boards call him bland.

It's literally the exact same demographic of fans as those here who would have pooh-poohed Mason Raymond to other fanbases had he left as a UFA in 2010 or 2011.

People with bad eye tests who get hyper-fixated on 'he falls down lots' or 'he misses lots of scoring chances and it's super frustrating' who aren't able to see the bigger picture as to what's happening on the ice and why that player is getting so many scoring chances in the first place.

I've had the misfortune of watching a lot of Leaf games over the past couple years and sure, he can be frustrating. His offensive IQ isn't amazing and his finishing isn't great. But he tilts the ice in his team's favour and when you look at the overall volume of what he's doing he's creating excellent results for the minutes he's playing. For his career, he's generated 2nd line offense from middle-6 high-leverage shutdown minutes.

 

[strattonius]

5 on 5 player, great on PK, excellent speed.

He covers in terms of team needs. If reports are true that he chose our offer with better offers on the table that's a plus.

Maybe it's not the greatest value signing but anyone thinking this was a Benning type deal are on a ledge right now spreading their fear mongering trash. Benning would give the extra year and extra million per - so 5yrs 5.5 most likely.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

WELCOME TO MOSCOUVER!

I think this may be the most Russians we've had on the team since like the early-mid 90s. That's uncharted territory for me as a fan, but I'm here for it.

 

[beachcomber]

The virtually unanimous reaction to this signing from Toronto fans on the main board is really weird and honestly I don't get it.

On paper his numbers are very good and he has some very dynamic qualities yet he's treated like a dime-a-dozen third liner that is only worth 3M or so, I'm pretty sure I even saw people on the main boards call him bland.

Everybody that leaves Toronto is terrible according to their fans.

 

[MS]

Because prior to last year (when he broke out with 20 goals due to an abnormal 14% shooting percentage), he was a pretty typical third-line NHLer.

He scored at 48 points/82 pace in 19-20 with zero PP time. That's basically in line with the ES production of the Lotto Line that year in their best year.

He's had 2 years of producing 2nd line numbers at ES (and high-end 2nd line numbers, at that) and 1 year of producing 3rd line numbers.

Yes, his shooting % will probably regress next year. But he'll also almost certainly be playing with better linemates than David Kampf and Pierre Engvall.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

Everybody that leaves Toronto is terrible according to their fans.

"Brought to you by: Larry Murphy. Larry Murphy, lol get wrecked Leafs fans."

 

[drax0s]

Ilya Mikheyev says he helped Andrei Kuzmenko pick the Canucks

A lunch in Miami helped Kuzmenko decide on the Vancouver Canucks.

www.vancouverisawesome.com

Mikhayev with the Kuzmenko assist.

A little weird he "liked" how we built the bubble team.

"I spoke with Kuzy in Miami," said Mikheyev during a Thursday morning Zoom call. "We were in Miami at the same time and we had some lunch. He asked me about the NHL and he asked me about his options, [the offers] he got. And I tell him Vancouver is the best option for him.

"He thought a lot about Vancouver and another team but it's my opinion for him — I told him Vancouver is the best option for Kuzy."
...
"I played two-and-a-half years in Toronto, probably just one Russian guy," said Mikheyev. "When I came in the NHL, just first year, having Russian guys was good because my English was bad. You practice, of course, you speak with guys, in the rink, in the restaurants outside the rink, and it's good for you.
...
"I saw how this team played, I saw the rink and maybe no fans, but — it was my first free agency and it's a long decision," said Mikheyev. "We spoke with my family, with everybody, and Vancouver was the best option. I like the city, I like the team, I like how they built this team."

 

[Josepho]

Because prior to last year (when he broke out with 20 goals due to an abnormal 14% shooting percentage), he was a pretty typical third-line NHLer.

I mean, I don't know, it seems like 2020-2021 is the outlier year if anything here (on-ice xgf of 32, on-ice gf of 25).

I don't really expect him to repeat last year, but even then this is probably a 40-point player that you can play in a lot of situations. I'm actually really curious to see what line he starts out on next season.

 

[sting101]

some interesting chatter

Ilya Mikheyev

He has 1 assist in 6 games but he has been one of the best leaf players so far this season. I feel like this guy should have way more points than he has, every time he has the puck in the neutral zone he effortlessly blows by everyone and gets a zone entry. Also, he's amazing in puck battles...

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