(Discussion) The Mikheyev slump

[CanucksFan26]

Ilya Mikheyev is very quietly in a horrific slump. He has just 3 points in the 18 games played in the new year. He has not registered a goal since December 17th. His time on ice has been diminished and he’s been shuffled down to the 4th line at times recently. I’ve noticed quite often that I forget he’s even playing at times. He has a great two way game but it often feels like he has disappeared. 
 

I definitely don’t feel the media discusses him the way they spoke about Kuzmenko but I have to wonder if given his contract and recent poor play, if Kessel does come on board, do you all think Mikheyev could be out the door by the deadline? I would hate to see him go but we need to open cap for next year and I am wondering if he perhaps has also fallen out over favor with Tocchet?

[CanucksJay]

 

Mik does not have the hands to produce as a top 6. He used to have elite speed to make up for that but he's lost that as well after his injury. At this point, he's more of a defensive specialist and is not worth the cap hit. He's a typical 2.5m  3rd liner getting paid almost 5m on our 4th line. 

Hogz looks so much better in the top 6

[iinatcc]

Team needs to find a way to replace. Overpayment like this is what doom teams in the playoffs (yes I know the cap doesn't count in the post season). 

 

 

[IBatch]

An overpayment to help plug a leaky PK at the time, was very much a JBenningesque sort of deal.   Basically a Pearson (upgrade?) at the time.   Proved he could play with world class forwards in TO, the same way Hyman did (who of course would have been nice instead, a year earlier I think) and that he could PK.

 

Ankle injury didn't help things.   There will be a CHI or SJ willing to take his deal on in the off season, how much that could cost us is unknown, so far Allvin has managed to use some magic, getting rid of players who no longer work for the team.  Lindholm isn't a foregone conclusion either,  LE is too much in recent memory to rush into that.    In the end, it's ok, we have enough guys playing at or above their cap hits,  and Tochett is doing exactly what he preaches, accountability.   Now that Hogs has played his way into the top six, and because our Third Line is the best in hockey,  Ilya Mikheyev is where he should be.    Maybe he gets some time with Brock and Miller.   If we're been fair too, Tochett did say he's maybe 80-90%.    Can't foresee injures either.    He's was a middle six forward, maybe brass was hoping for more.   Showed flashes of "more".   For sure in a slump. 

[IBatch]

1 hour ago, iinatcc said:

Team needs to find a way to replace. Overpayment like this is what doom teams in the playoffs (yes I know the cap doesn't count in the post season). 

 

 

If the team can find an upgrade, then so be it.   Does provide valuable PK minutes at least.   Believe they are working on the edges now.   Phil the Thrill is coming to boost the fourth line maybe, and provide some options on the second unit.    Aman needs upgrading, IF a Kessel can somehow manage part of a rotation in and out of the top six (Hogs likely sticks),  that bumps Suter down and Aman out , addition by subtraction.    Wish it was Eric Staal or Jason Spezza near the end of their careers ... or even Corey Perry (ok maybe not him or Thorton given the history).    It's also pretty rare to find a cup champ, that hasn't had an anchor somewhere in the lineup,  this year we've got excellent cap balance.    

Edited February 14 by IBatch

[DeltaSwede]

I've been on the fence on Mik for awhile. I wasn't the biggest fan of the signing and kinda went "cheesh" when it happened. He's looked better than I expected and then the injury/surgery thing happened. He was really good to start this season for example but has since then cooled off. 

 

I have been guilty off not considering the impact of his injury last season that pro-longed into his offseason training. I've called him an asset that could or should be moved. It's been speculated that he's having some sort of injury issue or running out of gas because of his injury. Apparently it's one of those that takes a long time to be 100% from.

 

With that said, I think it would be wise from us to reserve some judgement and hope that he eventually bounces back from whatever is ailing him. It could prove to be a big mistake to move him.He's a good hockey player and we've seen too many comeback stories in recent years to not know we should wait for judgement. 

Kuzmenko was different, he wasn't going to fit into the way RT wants to play. Mikheyev, theoretically, fits the coaches scheme perfectly. 

[Miss Korea]

27 minutes ago, DeltaSwede said:

I've been on the fence on Mik for awhile. I wasn't the biggest fan of the signing and kinda went "cheesh" when it happened. He's looked better than I expected and then the injury/surgery thing happened. He was really good to start this season for example but has since then cooled off. 

 

I have been guilty off not considering the impact of his injury last season that pro-longed into his offseason training. I've called him an asset that could or should be moved. It's been speculated that he's having some sort of injury issue or running out of gas because of his injury. Apparently it's one of those that takes a long time to be 100% from.

 

With that said, I think it would be wise from us to reserve some judgement and hope that he eventually bounces back from whatever is ailing him. It could prove to be a big mistake to move him.He's a good hockey player and we've seen too many comeback stories in recent years to not know we should wait for judgement. 

Kuzmenko was different, he wasn't going to fit into the way RT wants to play. Mikheyev, theoretically, fits the coaches scheme perfectly. 

 

Can always rely on you to come up with a measured response.  There is always a space for Mikheyev, even if it's on the fourth line as an overpaid defensive winger.  He was always an extremely streaky scorer in Toronto so if he can heat up at the right moment, I'm vibin'.

 

 

[Zombieksa]

I know what he can bring, but that 4.75 moved could assure guys like Joshua and Blueger are back next year. I think a hockey trade may be in order in the off-season. I doubt he gets moved by the trade deadline unless a lottery team wants a player with some term to turn into a reclamation project.

[Sativika]

Just out of curiosity, is there any Russian stars in the NHL other than OV that weren't undrafted free agents?

[PhillipBlunt]

Time to move on from Mikeyev. 

[iinatcc]

2 hours ago, Sativika said:

Just out of curiosity, is there any Russian stars in the NHL other than OV that weren't undrafted free agents?

 

Hmmm ... There's a lot ...

Malkin, Vasilevski, Kucherov, Sergechev etc. 

[Breadnbutta]

I don't even care right now. He's fine on the 4th line. I'm sure he will bounce back. He just needs to find chemistry with someone like garly and josh 

[Bob Long]

4 hours ago, IBatch said:

An overpayment to help plug a leaky PK at the time, was very much a JBenningesque sort of deal.   Basically a Pearson (upgrade?) at the time.   Proved he could play with world class forwards in TO, the same way Hyman did (who of course would have been nice instead, a year earlier I think) and that he could PK.

 

Ankle injury didn't help things.   There will be a CHI or SJ willing to take his deal on in the off season, how much that could cost us is unknown, so far Allvin has managed to use some magic, getting rid of players who no longer work for the team.  Lindholm isn't a foregone conclusion either,  LE is too much in recent memory to rush into that.    In the end, it's ok, we have enough guys playing at or above their cap hits,  and Tochett is doing exactly what he preaches, accountability.   Now that Hogs has played his way into the top six, and because our Third Line is the best in hockey,  Ilya Mikheyev is where he should be.    Maybe he gets some time with Brock and Miller.   If we're been fair too, Tochett did say he's maybe 80-90%.    Can't foresee injures either.    He's was a middle six forward, maybe brass was hoping for more.   Showed flashes of "more".   For sure in a slump. 

 

If it is knee related maybe they should give him time off to rehab it instead of playing through it.

 

Part of this is fucking Calgary plugs gooning it up in the preseason against us. They do it every preseason and this knee injury happened against them. 

[Maniwaki Canuck]

For me, the question isn't whether to move him but when:  now or around the draft.  If we could do a rinse and repeat of the Beauvillier deal and have the cap room for Tanev that would be great.  Long term, we need Mik's money for other priorities like keeping the 3rd  line together.  Short term. maybe there's a place for him on the 4eh line for the rest of the year.  With Bains, Podz anf Lek in the pipeline there's no place on the roster next year for an over-paid winger.

[OldFaithfulcap]

It was a knee surgery on his ACL, it's the kind of thing that does reduce speed. 
 

He's fine on the 4th line, good pk instincts but his shot isn't good and so without speed he isn't going to score much. 

 

 

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/it-was-my-decision-canucks-mikheyev-speaks-out-on-handling-of-acl-injury/sn-amp/

[HKSR]

I've been calling it out for awhile.  Mikheyev needs to be moved.  Just not right now.  We need him for the playoffs unless we are able to find a suitable replacement for his defensive/PK work. 

 

I projected our cap situation, and the only way we can feasibly keep Lindholm is if he move on from either Mikheyev or Garland.  The answer was obvious, and it's glaringly obvious now that Mik is a 4th line $4.75M player that should be moved in the offseason.

[PureQuickness]

Ok, so Mikheyev isn't scoring. Everyone knows this. All the stats watchers can visually see it. What we don't see is that Mikheyev doesn't make defensive mistakes that the other forwards have been guilty of doing. AND that's why he's been kept in the lineup.

[Rindiculous]

3 hours ago, iinatcc said:

 

Hmmm ... There's a lot ...

Malkin, Vasilevski, Kucherov, Sergechev etc. 

Let me continue Barkov, Kuznetsov, Tarasenko, Svechnikov, Bobrovsky

[iinatcc]

1 hour ago, PureQuickness said:

Ok, so Mikheyev isn't scoring. Everyone knows this. All the stats watchers can visually see it. What we don't see is that Mikheyev doesn't make defensive mistakes that the other forwards have been guilty of doing. AND that's why he's been kept in the lineup.

 

Still not worth 5 Million though

[CanucksFan26]

8 hours ago, PureQuickness said:

Ok, so Mikheyev isn't scoring. Everyone knows this. All the stats watchers can visually see it. What we don't see is that Mikheyev doesn't make defensive mistakes that the other forwards have been guilty of doing. AND that's why he's been kept in the lineup.

I think his defensive game is great but my fear is that his salary will ultimately cost us an opportunity to keep guys like Joshua and Blueger. But he has shown flashes of top 6 offensive production in the past. I just don’t know what to do with him.

[Junkyard Dog]

Seems to lost a step with the knee injury. 
 

He isn’t as effective without his speed. 
 

Still will probably take him a while to get back to 100%. 
 

The time to really worry would be next year with a full off-season to get back to 100%. 

[Elias Pettersson]

14 hours ago, Miss Korea said:

 

Can always rely on you to come up with a measured response.  There is always a space for Mikheyev, even if it's on the fourth line as an overpaid defensive winger.  He was always an extremely streaky scorer in Toronto so if he can heat up at the right moment, I'm vibin'.

 

 

 

Tom Wilson had his knee surgery in May of 2022.  Tocchet spoke to him this month.  So that is 21 months from his surgey that Wilson is feeling 100%.  I have been told many times that it takes up to two years to be 100% from ACL surgery.  My buddy had it, and it was at least that long.  Mikheyev is only 12-13 months out from his surgery.  So he probably won't be 100% until next season.  

 

I want to see him at full health again, as I believe he can play in the top 6 with top offensive forwards and be the F1 on a line with either Petey or Miller...

[Devron]

We are always so quick to ship out players, Boeser Garland, now Mikheyev. I’m sticking with Mikheyev. I think he will still end up being an important player on our team 

[HKSR]

21 minutes ago, Elias Pettersson said:

 

Tom Wilson had his knee surgery in May of 2022.  Tocchet spoke to him this month.  So that is 21 months from his surgey that Wilson is feeling 100%.  I have been told many times that it takes up to two years to be 100% from ACL surgery.  My buddy had it, and it was at least that long.  Mikheyev is only 12-13 months out from his surgery.  So he probably won't be 100% until next season.  

 

I want to see him at full health again, as I believe he can play in the top 6 with top offensive forwards and be the F1 on a line with either Petey or Miller...

Problem with that is this year is literally the healthiest he has been in his entire career.  He hasn't played more than 60 games in a season his entire career.

[Alflives]

1 minute ago, Devron said:

We are always so quick to ship out players, Boeser Garland, now Mikheyev. I’m sticking with Mikheyev. I think he will still end up being an important player on our team 

We true fans stand up for our players (even the little ones). It’s the Trolling Loserdoodles who criticize the top club in the league. These kinds of people have small (down there) parts. Little bits. Tiny tots. Tiny weenie weinies. No dangle.