The Vancouver Canucks could be on the verge of making a major move.
The team is working on a deal that would send Ilya Mikheyev, the rights to Sam Lafferty and a second-round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Hearing Chicago and Vancouver working on a deal that will create cap room for the Canucks — potentially involving Ilya Mikheyev and rights to Sam Lafferty, with a second-round pick as a sweetener
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 27, 2024
The Canucks have reportedly been looking to move Mikheyev to get off his $4.75 million contract which has two years remaining. The extra cap space would go a long ways in their quest to re-sign pending free agents such as Nikita Zadorov or Dakota Joshua.
One holdup in the deal could be the no-trade clause that Mikheyev has in his contract. He has not yet approved a move to the Blackhawks per CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal.
Mikehev has not yet approved the trade to Chicago, he has a no-trade
— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) June 27, 2024
If Mikheyev does approve the deal then the two teams reportedly already have a framework in place per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli.
The second-round pick the Canucks would be giving away is for 2025 and they would be receiving a 2027 fourth-round selection.
Ilya Mikheyev hasn’t formally agreed to waive his no-trade clause yet to go to #Blackhawks, but provided he does, teams have agreement in place on a trade:
To #Blackhawks: Ilya Mikheyev, 2nd Rd Pick, pending UFA Sam Lafferty
To #Canucks: 4th Rd Pick@DailyFaceoff
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) June 27, 2024
Mikheyev had just 11 goals and 31 points in 78 games last season. He especially struggled in the second half of the season including the postseason as he finished with zero points in 11 postseason games and was made a healthy scratch.
Lafferty is a pending unrestricted free agent who was already believed to be hitting the open market. He also had a rough end to last season and failed to record a point in the playoffs.
More to come…