Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet shared that Ilya Mikheyev would not be playing in any of the team’s remaining two preseason games. The forward is continuing to rehab a torn ACL suffered earlier in the year. Tocchet made it sound like Vancouver was pleased with the direction of Mikheyev’s recovery, although doctors have urged the 28-year-old to not commit to being available for opening night. Mikheyev is still readjusting to facing contact and will be at the team’s final camp practices.
Mikheyev has been partially absent from training camp, missing time both because of his injury and for personal reasons. He played in just 46 games with Vancouver last season, his first with the club, recording 13 goals and 28 assists. It was his fourth NHL season and the fourth straight year of Mikheyev playing in 55 or fewer NHL games. In the 2021-22 campaign, his final year with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Mikheyev tallied 21 goals and 32 points in 53 games. He’s now under contract with Vancouver for the next three seasons, with a $4.75MM cap hit in all three seasons, so getting Mikheyev to a healthy and durable state will be important for the club.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Athletic’s Michael Russo shared that, with Mats Zuccarello and Marcus Foligno extended, the Minnesota Wild are now turning their attention towards locking in Ryan Hartman. Russo notes that Hartman is likely looking for a salary north of $4MM but the team will want to keep him under that mark.
- Sportsnet’s Luke Fox is expecting the Tampa Bay Lightning will turn their attention towards the waiver wire to try and find a replacement for the injured Andrei Vasilevskiy. The team is currently rostering Jonas Johansson and Matt Tomkins and is in a tough spot to sign or trade for anyone with their tight cap situation.