Vancouver Canucks sign Ilya Mikheyev to four-year contract

Ilya Mikheyev has signed a four-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks worth $4.75 million annually, his agent Dan Milstein announced on Twitter.

Mikheyev signed a one-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs as an undrafted free agent in 2019 following a few strong seasons in the KHL. Over three seasons in Toronto, Mikheyev scored 36 goals and 72 points over the course of 146 games. He’s also been a stalwart on the team’s penalty kill.

The 2021-22 season was the best of Mikheyev’s NHL career, as he scored a career-high 21 goals and 32 points over 53 games. Given that performance and the team’s tight salary cap situation, it was inevitable that Mikheyev would leave Toronto in free agency.

Mikheyev joins a Canucks team that’s in limbo. Vancouver finished the 2021-22 season with a disappointing 40-30-12 record and they fired general manager Jim Benning and head coach Travis Green mid-season.

Adding Mikheyev gives the Canucks a veteran Russian player to have around as 2019 first-round pick Vasily Podkolzin and KHL free agent signing Andrei Kuzmenko adjust to life in North America.