The Chicago Blackhawks traded away multiple of their former pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs) this season. Nick Foligno (Minnesota Wild), Connor Murphy (Edmonton Oilers), and Jason Dickinson (Oilers) were all dealt by Chicago ahead of the deadline. With the Blackhawks being out of a playoff spot and still rebuilding, it made sense that they moved on from these veterans.
However, the Blackhawks did not trade pending UFA forward Ilya Mikheyev at the deadline. When noting that the 31-year-old forward has been having another solid season for the Blackhawks, he certainly could have been a nice player for a contender to add to their roster. Yet, the Blackhawks kept him, and now they have a clear move to make with him.
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With Mikheyev finishing the season with the Blackhawks, they absolutely should not let him leave for nothing through free agency this summer. He has been such a key piece of the Blackhawks’ penalty kill and forward group this campaign. Thus, if they can keep him around on a short-term extension, that would be great news for the Blackhawks.
In 73 games this season with the Blackhawks, Mikheyev has recorded 16 goals, 17 assists, and 33 points. This is after he had 20 goals and a career-high 34 points in 80 games for Chicago this past season. With this, he has been a valuable piece of the Blackhawks’ roster, and it would sting to lose him this off-season.
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