Market on Canucks Forward Appears Cold, Vancouver GM Reaches Out For Help

The Vancouver Canucks are looking to clear additional cap space this summer by trading forward Ilya Mikheyev. The market appears cold on the speedy Russian, causing Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin to take another approach to moving Mikheyev from the roster.

Vancouver Athletics' Rick Dhaliwal reports that Mikheyev's agent Dan Millstein has been given permission to help facilitate a trade.

Mikheyev faced adversity during his first season with the Canucks, after suffering an ACL injury causing him to miss close to half of the 2022-23 season and delayed his 2023-24 campaign. In his sophomore season with Vancouver, he produced 11 goals and 31 points in 78 games. He had a very disappointing showing in the playoffs, producing 0 goals in 11 games while seeing his ice time dip to 12:06.

Insider Frank Seravalii revealed that teams are asking Vancouver to attach a "sweetener" in any deal to acquire Mikheyev. This is something the Canucks are unwilling to do at this time.

Seravalli revealed.

Buying out Mikheyev's contract could be another option. Per CapFriendly, that would result in a cap penalty ranging from $1.15 million to $2.15 million annually over the next four seasons. In the end, I think Canucks general manager Patrick Allvin will gauge the market and eventually give in to the sweetener demand to rid them of Mikheyev's contract.