Blackhawks General Manager Kyle Davidson did us a favor by moving before we took off while the CHGO Blackhawks team was packing our bags for the early morning flight to Las Vegas for the 2024 NHL Draft. Together, the Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks have reached an agreement whereby Chicago will receive a 2027 fourth-round pick, Sam Lafferty’s free agent rights, and Ilya Mikheyev in return, with the Canucks keeping 15% of Mikheyev’s cap hit.
The acquisition of Mikheyev is undoubtedly the main reason for Chicago to make the trade. The 29-year-old winger, who is in the third year of a four-year contract with a $4.75 million AAV cap hit, has fluctuated in his NHL career, going cold the last time around. Following a 20-goal season with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2021–22, Mikheyev struggled with injuries and inconsistent play in his first two years in Vancouver.
In 46 games with the Canucks in 2022–23, he scored 28 points; however, an ACL injury derailed his 2023–24 campaign, as he finished with just 11 goals and 31 points in 78 games before recording zero points in 11 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
It’s not easy to recover from a knee injury like that for a player whose speed and two-way play have mostly placed him in middle-six roles. Even in his worst circumstances, the Blackhawks aretaining that Mikheyev will provide the necessary skill, size, and speed boost to their bottom six to protect their younger forwards, who are expected to play top-nine and top-six roles over the next two seasons.
Sam Lafferty was acquired by the Blackhawks in January 2022 from the Pittsburgh Penguins, so this will probably be his second stint with the team. Lafferty signed a two-year contract worth $1.15 million AAV with Chicago after scoring five goals and eleven points in 46 games after the trade, but he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in February 2023 before the deadline, and then from Toronto to Vancouver at the start of the previous season. In 79 games with the Canucks this season, he scored 13 goals and collected 24 points. However, he also participated in 11 Stanley Cup Playoff games but managed just 0 points.
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Lafferty’s combination of speed, ferocity on the forecheck, and utility on the penalty kill instantly enhances the bottom six forward group, assuming he signs with the Blackhawks once more.
Last but not least, the Blackhawks will have a future second-round pick in the NHL draft of 2027. Even though Kyle Davidson has acknowledged that he isn’t able to select every player the Blackhawks currently have, it isn’t a bad thing at all to have more future assets available for trade. He could also try to force open Chicago’s future playoff and Stanley Cup contention windows by using the pick to add to the Blackhawks’ prospect pool. Additionally, the last “cap dump” trade the Blackhawks made for Jason Dickinson, who has performed admirably for Chicago, involved taking a second-round pick from the Canucks.
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