Ilya Mikheyev was among the Chicago Blackhawks' bright spots from their 2024-25 season. After being traded by the Vancouver Canucks to the Blackhawks in a cap dump move, Mikheyev proved to be a nice fit on the Blackhawks' roster. In 80 games on the year, the 6-foot-2 winger scored 20 goals and recorded a career-high 34 points.
Besides providing the Blackhawks with solid secondary scoring, Mikheyev was also impactful due to his solid defensive play and penalty killing. Due to this, he ended up being a strong addition to the Blackhawks' roster during his first year with the team, and they will be hoping for more of the same from him in 2025-26.
Yet, the Blackhawks will also have a decision to make with Mikheyev in the coming months. The veteran forward is entering this upcoming season as a pending unrestricted free agent (UFA), so the Blackhawks will need to decide if he is a player that they plan to keep around or not.
With Mikheyev fitting in so nicely with the Blackhawks, they could consider signing him to a contract extension. This is especially so if he continues to perform well for them in 2025-26. However, with the Blackhawks having several promising youngsters in their system, it is certainly possible that they could decide to move on from him, whether that is at the 2026 NHL trade deadline or when his contract expires next summer.
Nevertheless, it is going to be interesting to see what ends up happening between Mikheyev and the Blackhawks.
Ex-Blackhawks Forward Among Remaining Free AgentsThe Chicago Blackhawks moved on from multiple players this off-season. One of them was forward Andreas Athanasiou, as he became an unrestricted free agent (UFA) on July 1 after the Blackhawks did not re-sign him. Now, with the halfway point of August almost here, the 31-year-old is still looking for his new home.
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